Support to Clinical Trials for the Ebola Vaccine

The project aims to support Canadian activities towards phases 2 and 3 of clinical trials in Africa. These trials accelerate safety and efficacy testing and use of vaccine candidate(s) among at-risk populations such as front-line health-care workers and first-responders in Africa. Evidence from these trials should determine the safety protective immune response efficacy testing and use of vaccine candidate(s) in at-risk populations such as front-line health-care workers and first-responders. The results inform the approval of vaccine candidates for future use to prevent Ebola transmission. Activities led by the research teams include: (1) coordinating in-field preparations to facilitate the clinical trial including: national approvals capacity building of Africa organizations involved in the clinical trial recruitment of field personnel and clinical trials participants; (2) planning oversight and execution of the clinical trial; and (3) analyzing and reporting of results. This project is coordinated by International Development Research Centre (IDRC) in partnership with Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR) Public Health Agency of Canada (PHAC) and Department of Foreign Affairs Trade and Development Canada (DFATD). Partnerships are being built between Canadian researchers with African institutions and researchers in the implementation of this project to help build the capacity of African researchers and institutions to conduct high-level biomedical research like clinical trials and facilitate future collaboration. In addition the project improves knowledge sharing on Ebola and similar health emergencies among African governments and research organizations to enable them to effectively respond to future outbreaks.

The expected intermediate outcomes for this project include: 1) generate evidence of safety protective immune response and efficacy of the vaccine for use in populations at risk of exposure; 2) determine minimum effective dose of vaccine required to achieve adequate immune response; and 3) enhance capacity of African researchers to conduct clinical trials.