Back in February, Novavax ($NVAX) took its Ebola candidate to Australia for a Phase I trial. The company reported positive top-line results from the 230-person trial on Tuesday.
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| Dr. Greg Glenn, Novavax SVP of R&D |
The ebolavirus glycoprotein recombinant nanoparticle vaccine, or Ebola GP vaccine for short, was well-tolerated and provoked high ebolavirus antibody responses, said Dr. Greg Glenn, Novavax's research chief, in a statement.
It was tested at a variety of doses, with and without adjuvant, the company said in the statement.
"These data, together with two positive challenge studies in non-human primates, suggest that the Ebola GP Vaccine would be protective in humans," Glenn said.
And while the Ebola outbreak has abated, it doesn't mean that Novavax has to slow down too.
"The current reduction in the new numbers of cases does not mean that the need for (a vaccine) less important," CEO Stan Erck told FierceVaccines in March. The company aims to build a stockpile of Ebola vaccine for future outbreaks--outbreaks that Erck is certain will come. Other goals include long-term vaccination of West African populations as well as first responders and the military.
Merck ($MRK), Johnson & Johnson ($JNJ) and GlaxoSmithKline ($GSK) already have their candidates in midstage trials.
"We're not at the same stage as some of the other developers … but what we have is an improvement over what's already being tested," Glenn said, as quoted by Reuters. If all goes well, the vaccine could be market-ready in two to three years, he said. The company is in talks over possible collaborations with governmental and nongovernmental groups to develop the vaccine further, Reuters reported.
- here's the release
- and more from Reuters
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