GSK Ebola vaccine "well tolerated"
18 Feb 2015
Initial results from a trial using the GlaxoSmithKline (GSK)/ National Institutes of Health (NIH) Ebola vaccine show it has an acceptable safety profile.
The trial, in which 60 people took part, was conducted at the University of Oxford’s Jenner Institute last year.
“The vaccine was well tolerated. Its safety profile is pretty much as we had hoped,” said Adrian Hill of the Jenner Institute at Oxford University, who led the trial.
“Larger trials in West Africa will be able to tell us more
Trial leader Adrian Hill
The GSK/NIH vaccine uses a single Ebola virus gene in a chimpanzee adenovirus to generate an immune response.
As it does not contain infectious Ebola virus material, it cannot cause a person who is vaccinated to become infected with Ebola.
According to researchers, results from this trial suggest the vaccine is suitable for further testing in West Africa.
“We have seen an immune response in the great majority of people receiving the vaccine. It is possible to be optimistic about the immune responses we’ve seen; it’s also hard to be really confident the levels would be protective,” Hill said.
“Larger trials in West Africa will be able to tell us more.”
