Moderna authorized to launch its Ebola vaccine clinical trials in Canada

A hygiene worker helps a doctor put on personal protective equipment (PPE) before caring for patients with Ebola in the Democratic Republic of Congo last month. Canada's ministry of health has granted Moderna authorization to begin clinical trials on a vaccine against the Bundibugyo strain that has killed more than 1,700 in the African nation. Photo by BENEDICTION MURHABAZI /AFP via Getty Images

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Canada has authorized U.S. pharmaceutical giant Moderna to begin clinical trials for a vaccine against the Bundibugyo strain of Ebola, the Canadian health ministry announced Tuesday.

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The Phase 1 trial of the mRNA vaccine “will assess the candidate vaccine’s safety, determine the right dosage range and identify any side effects,” according to the ministry.

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No Ebola cases have so far been recorded in Canada.

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As part of the trial, a group of healthy participants will receive a dose of the vaccine to assess the antibody response to the Bundibugyo strain.

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If the results are positive, the vaccine will advance to further clinical trials involving larger groups of participants.

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The vaccine relies on the same mRNA technology used in Moderna’s Covid-19 vaccine.

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Canada, which closed its borders on July 20 to all foreign nationals who had recently been in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), has reached an agreement with the company to manufacture the vaccine on Canadian soil.

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There is currently no approved vaccine or treatment for the Bundibugyo variant behind the Ebola outbreak declared on May 15.

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Other vaccine candidates are also under development.

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A vaccine described by the WHO as the “most promising,” known as rVSV Bundibugyo, is to be developed by Singapore-based Hilleman Laboratories.

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Meanwhile, in late July, the first volunteer received the initial dose of another Bundibugyo vaccine developed by the University of Oxford in Britain, which uses the same technology as AstraZeneca’s Covid-19 vaccine.

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Treatments are also undergoing clinical trials in line with recommendations from the WHO.

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Ebola, which is transmitted through contact with bodily fluids and causes hemorrhagic fever, has killed more than 1,700 people in the DRC since May.

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