Ebola vaccine research by Johnson and Johnson

JOHNSON AND JOHNSON got 150 millions$ to eradicate Ebola virus.

Ebola virus

The grant comes from Innovative Medicines Initiative (IMI) in Europe, and is meant to speed up development and clinical trial of Ebola vaccine and awareness of vaccination.

J&J’s Ebola vaccine as well as on drug production and a campaign to raise awareness of the vaccination.
J&J is working along with a newly formed association that includes the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, the University of Oxford and La Centre Muraz among others.

Despite the fact that Ebola outbreaks have been occurring for decades, the commercial incentive for large companies to research the disease did not exist because of the low number of patients.

But in recent months, health authorities and some of the world’s largest pharmaceutical companies have been racing to develop treatments for those infected with the Ebola virus and vaccines to protect those not yet sickened.

In October, J&J committed $200 million to Ebola research and began testing its drug in humans on January 6. The early-stage clinical trial is being led by the University of Oxford’s pediatrics department. The company plans to have more than 400,000 doses available for large-scale clinical trials by April and looking for trials in Europe and Africa.

Johnson & Johnson is not the only pharmaceutical company working on Ebola vaccine.

GlaxoSmithKline is planning to begin human trials in five countries next month.
Merck started its own trials in December, although it recently encountered set back after volunteers experienced joint pain.
Chimerix started testing on patients in Liberia earlier this month, in partnership with Oxford University and Doctors Without Borders.

The Ebola has claimed near 8,200 lives and infected 20,000 in Sierra Leone, Liberia and Guinea since it started early last year.