Department of Defense contracts Profectus to develop its VesiculoVax Zaire-Ebola virus vaccine

The US Department of Defense has contracted the manufacture and IND-enabling preclinical testing of the trivalent vaccine developed by clinical-stage viral disease vaccine company Profectus BioSciences. The contract is worth $9.5 million.

The USACC has also contracted for the clinical evaluation of the VesiculoVax Zaire-Ebola virus vaccine to meet the current outbreak in West Africa. The award has been made with the Battelle Memorial Institute, which has contracted with Profectus for manufacturing and clinical evaluation, and with Charles River Laboratories and Biologics Consulting Group for preclinical testing and IND preparation, respectively.

John Eldridge, chief scientific officer of Profectus, said: "We are gratified that the Department of the Defense has recognized the potential of Profectus' VesiculoVax Zaire-Ebola virus vaccine to combat the current outbreak in West Africa, and the potential of our multi-component vaccine to protect civilians and military personnel against all strains of filoviruses, whether from natural outbreak or deliberate misuse. More than 15 years have been invested in developing the genetically attenuated rVSVN4CT1 VesiculoVax vaccine delivery platform and demonstrating its safety in multiple clinical trials. To date, it is the only vaccine to demonstrate single-dose protection of monkeys against lethal challenge with highly virulent low-passage Ebola and Marburg viruses."