Dr. Moncef Slaoui, chairman of global vaccines at GlaxoSmithKline said the company shipped 300 vials of an experimental Ebola vaccine.
"If the candidate vaccine is able to protect these people, as we hope it will, it could significantly contribute to efforts to bring this epidemic under control and prevent future outbreaks," he said. Photo courtesy of GlaxoSmithKline
MONROVIA, Liberia, Jan. 23 (UPI) -- The first batch of experimental Ebola vaccines was shipped to Liberia today for clinical trials to begin on people who are most at risk of developing the disease.
The initial shipment of 300 vials of the Ebola vaccine will arrive in Liberia, one of three African countries most affected by the deadly virus, British drugmaker GlaxoSmithKline said. Eventually, up to 30,000 people will be involved in the large-scale clinical trial. Healthcare workers, family members and burial teams are expected to receive the first round of experimental treatment.
"Shipping the vaccine today is a major achievement and shows that we remain on track with the accelerated development of our candidate Ebola vaccine. The initial phase 1 data we have seen are encouraging and give us confidence to progress to the next phases of clinical testing, which will involve the vaccination of thousands of volunteers, including front-line healthcare workers," Dr Moncef Slaoui, GSK's chairman of global vaccines, said.
For the trial, about one-third of the participants will get the experimental medication. Others will get another vaccine against a less serious disease, such as measles.
GlaxoSmithKline's experimental vaccine is one of several under development. Other trials are underway in the United States, Europe and other parts of Africa.
More than 21,000 people have been infected with Ebola in Africa since the outbreak began in late 2013. Nearly 8,500 have died.
The World Health Organization on Friday announced that new outbreaks in Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone have fallen to the lowest levels since August. There were a combined total of 145 new cases in the three worst-hit countries in the week ending Sunday.
