DRC begins Tumaini trial of Ebola vaccine candidates against Bundibugyo virus

The Democratic Republic of Congo has commenced a pivotal Phase 2/3 clinical trial of vaccine candidates against the Bundibugyo species of Ebola virus, after the first participant was vaccinated on Friday in Bunia, eastern DRC. The Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations (CEPI) disclosed the launch in a statement from its Senior Communications and Advocacy Manager, Ms Jodie Rogers, the News Agency of Nigeria reported.

WHO Director-General Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus confirmed the milestone on X: “Science gives us hope. Today, in Bunia DRC, the first participants were vaccinated in a new Ebola vaccine trial called Tumaini, which means ‘hope’ in Swahili,” TRT Afrika reported.

The first candidate to enter the trial is Ervebo, licensed for preventing Ebola virus disease caused by the Zaire ebolavirus species, though its effectiveness against Bundibugyo virus in humans remains unknown. Two further candidates — one developed by Moderna and one by the University of Oxford in collaboration with the Serum Institute of India — are joining the trial shortly. The study uses an adaptive platform design with a ring vaccination strategy targeting eligible contacts of confirmed cases, CEPI said.

It begins as the DRC faces what CEPI called the largest recorded Bundibugyo virus disease outbreak and the second-largest Ebola outbreak to date — 9,552 cases and 4,602 deaths as of October 21. Declared on May 15, it is a WHO Public Health Emergency of International Concern and an Africa CDC continental-security emergency, with imported cases confirmed in Uganda, Kenya and Nigeria and eight DRC provinces affected.