Janssen Pharmaceutica is starting the first field trials of the new Ebola vaccine in the affected regions in Sierra Leone. The pharmaceutical company wants to test whether the vaccine is safe and whether it enables the immune system to protect the body against ebola. The vaccine, in which Janssen puts a lot of effort since the outbreak in 2014, consists of two injections. It was developed by the subsidiary company Crucell and the Danish biotech partner Bavarian Nordic.
The Ebola virus took the lives of more than 11.000 West Africans in the last year and a half. Luckily, the epidemic is almost over. Still, pharmaceutical companies such as Janssen, GSK and Merck continue their research to be able to tackle a future epidemic much more quickly.
Learn more about the ebola vaccin in an interview with Janssen’s lead developper of the vaccin.
