CEPI funds Bundibugyo Ebola vaccine candidate into clinic

CEPI is providing up to $16.5 million to Minapharm Group and its Berlin unit ProBioGen to advance a Bundibugyo ebolavirus vaccine candidate into early clinical testing in Africa, marking the fifth such candidate CEPI has funded. The project uses ProBioGen’s modified vaccinia Ankara platform with the aim of inducing both B-cell and T-cell responses and progressing to preclinical development and Phase I trials to assess safety and immunogenicity. CEPI seeks to have at least two Bundibugyo vaccines reach Emergency Use Authorization and WHO prequalification, amid efforts to expand vaccine capacity across Africa. The push comes as the DRC experiences a historically large and rapidly spreading Ebola outbreak, with UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres calling for urgent funding—about $1.1 billion—to sustain humanitarian relief and outbreak response. However, CEPI itself is grappling with a significant funding shortfall, having borrowed $100 million from other programs and raised roughly another $100 million from governments and philanthropic donors, underscoring the broader financing challenges facing Ebola vaccine development. The coordination of CEPI’s funding with ongoing UN appeals and parallel vaccine-development efforts reflects a multi-pronged strategy to accelerate protection against Bundibugyo and bolster preparation for future epidemics.