Associated Press
WASHINGTON--An experimental Ebola-virus vaccine appears safe and
triggered signs of immune protection in the first 20 volunteers to
test it, U.S. researchers reported Wednesday.
The vaccine is designed to spur the immune system's production
of anti-Ebola antibodies, and people developed them within four
weeks of getting the shots at the U.S. National Institutes of
Health. Half the test group received a higher-dose shot, and those
people produced more antibodies, according to the study published
in the New England Journal of Medicine.
Some people also developed a different set of virus-fighting
immune cells, named T cells, the study found. That may be important
in fending off Ebola, as prior research found that monkeys
protected by the vaccine also had that combination response.
Stimulating both types of immune response is "a promising
factor," said Anthony Fauci, director of NIH's National Institute
of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, whose employees led the
work.
The researchers reported no serious side effects. But two people
who received the higher-dose vaccine briefly developed fevers, one
above 103 degrees Fahrenheit, which disappeared within a day.
Earlier this month, Dr. Fauci told Congress this first-stage
testing was promising enough that the U.S. planned much larger
studies in West Africa, starting in Liberia in early January, to
try to prove whether the vaccine really works.
Scientists are racing to develop ways to prevent or treat the
virus that has killed more than 5,600 people in West Africa, most
of them in Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone.
Wednesday's publication offered scientific details about the
initial testing of the vaccine candidate furthest along, one being
developed by the NIH and GlaxoSmithKline. Additional safety studies
are under way here and abroad. A different Canadian-made vaccine
also has begun small safety studies.
Many questions remain as larger studies are being designed,
including the best dose and how soon protection may begin,
cautioned Daniel Bausch, a Tulane University Ebola specialist who
wasn't involved in the study. Plus, monkey research suggests a
booster shot will be needed for long-term protection.
Copyright 2014 The Associated Press.
Access Investor Kit for GlaxoSmithKline Plc
Visit
http://www.companyspotlight.com/partner?cp_code=P479&isin=GB0009252882
Access Investor Kit for GlaxoSmithKline Plc
Visit
http://www.companyspotlight.com/partner?cp_code=P479&isin=US37733W1053
Subscribe to WSJ: http://online.wsj.com?mod=djnwires