* Trial to test safety and immunogenicity of Ebola vaccine
* J&J working with Bavarian Nordic on prime-boost vaccine
(Adds executive comment, link to story on Ebola nurse)
By Ben Hirschler
Oct 9 (Reuters) - Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) JNJ.N has begun a
clinical trial of a two-shot Ebola vaccine in Sierra Leone,
underlining its determination to push ahead with development,
even as the epidemic fades out in West Africa.
The new study will investigate the experimental product's
safety and its ability to provoke an immune response to the
disease, which the World Health Organization says has killed
more than 11,000 people in Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone.
Last week, for the first time since the Ebola outbreak was
declared in March 2014, there were no new confirmed cases of the
deadly disease in those countries, according to the U.N. agency.
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Some survivors still suffer long-term effects from the
virus, which can persist in parts of the body after clearing the
blood, including a Scottish nurse taken ill in Sierra Leone last
year who is now back in hospital for more treatment.
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The world already has one successful Ebola vaccine, with
Merck (NYSE:MRK) MRK.N and NewLink Genetics' NLNK.O product proving
100-percent effective in a clinical study in Guinea in July.
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But scientists and drug companies are continuing to research
the potential of alternatives, since different kinds of vaccines
may be better suited for different population groups.
"Both regulators and governments around the world have
encouraged us to continue," Paul Stoffels, J&J's chief
scientific officer, told Reuters.
Campaign groups such as Medecins Sans Frontieres are also
keen to see multiple manufacturers in order to have competition
in the vaccine market to ensure lower prices and ample supply.
J&J, which is working with Bavarian Nordic BAVA.CO in
developing its vaccine, said on Friday that trial recruitment
was underway in Sierra Leone and the first volunteers had
received their initial vaccine dose.
This is the first study conducted of the so-called
prime-boost vaccine regimen in a West African country affected
by the recent Ebola epidemic.
J&J's vaccine uses a combination of two components to
strengthen the immunity and make it last longer. The U.S.
healthcare company said it had scaled up production to more than
800,000 two-shot doses and had the capacity to produce 2 million
if needed.
Scientific experts believe the success of Merck and
NewLink's vaccine suggests other products in trials should also
prove effective.
Although these alternatives may not be tested in preventing
Ebola cases, given the current lack of disease, they could still
be licensed and readied for use in future outbreaks based on
human immune response results and data from non-human primate
experiments.
GlaxoSmithKline GSK.L is also working on an Ebola vaccine.