CEPI Statement: CEPI’s response to epidemic of Ebola Disease caused by Bundibugyo virus

CEPI has rapidly mobilised in response to the deeply concerning epidemic of Ebola disease caused by Bundibugyo virus in the Democratic Republic of Congo and Uganda, which poses a significant threat to affected countries, neighbouring states and the wider region.

Since the outbreak was declared on 15 May, CEPI has been working at pace with its networks, partners including WHO, Africa CDC, Gavi, ANRS (Chair of the Filovirus Collaborative Open Research Consortia) and national authorities to make its resources and technical expertise available to support appropriate clinical trials, evidence generation, and other R&D priorities within nationally-led responses.

CEPI’s role is focused on driving and supporting efforts to evaluate prophylactic medical countermeasures for Bundibugyo virus, focused on vaccines. The hope is that investigational candidates could potentially contribute to stemming the outbreak and saving lives, and advance the global pipeline of medical countermeasures against Bundibugyo virus.

We are taking immediate actions, including:

• CEPI has already assessed the landscape of vaccine and monoclonal antibody candidates to identify those which could be evaluated during this outbreak. There are currently no Bundibugyo virus vaccine candidates in Phase I clinical trials; several are in preclinical development, some of which have limited preclinical data. A licensed vaccine exists for the Zaire strain and several clinical-stage candidates are in development for the Sudan strain. However, there is extremely limited evidence regarding their efficacy against Bundibugyo virus.
• We are working closely with partners including WHO, Africa CDC and ANRS to leverage the world’s experts in this virus to assemble an urgent research agenda for affected countries to consider.
• We are evaluating options to rapidly advance vaccine development, including identifying candidates and potential manufacturers to produce doses for clinical trials. Once that assessment is complete, we are prepared to move at-risk – i.e. accepting that a product may not succeed or be needed, and conducting activities in parallel - to accelerate the development and availability of vaccine candidates that are currently in preclinical development, leveraging our long-standing Filovirus programme.
• We have rapidly activated all six of our global preparedness networks so they are ready to swiftly advance vaccine development. For example, CEPI’s Centralized Laboratory Network and Preclinical Models Network are preparing to support vaccine testing; we are in dialogue with potential manufacturers in our Vaccine Manufacturing Facility Network; we are engaging with regulators to align on regulatory pathways; and our Clinical Research Preparedness network is reviewing protocols and potential clinical trial sites.
• We are conducting scenario-based outbreak modelling to support preparedness and decision-making and inform the design of potential clinical trials that could generate an efficacy signal.
• We have initiated establishment of an international antibody standard so that any developer can assess Bundibugyo virus vaccine candidates quickly against a common benchmark. Because of prior CEPI investments, we have already supported collection of Bundibugyo survivor samples in collaboration with the Uganda Virus Research Institute.
• We are in dialogue with Gavi, World Bank, Development Finance Institutions, and additional partners to discuss surge financing that would be needed beyond CEPI to enable downstream manufacturing and procurement with countries, pending the outcome of the abovementioned R&D.

CEPI will continue to work closely with our partners and medical countermeasures funders to coordinate our efforts as the situation evolves.

The recent Hantavirus outbreak, followed closely by the declaration of a Bundibugyo virus epidemic, underscores the urgent need to strengthen public health responses, accelerate medical countermeasures development capabilities, and invest in preparedness for an increasingly complex infectious disease landscape. 

The past few days have reinforced the importance of CEPI’s focus on advancing R&D across viral families, strengthening vaccine platform readiness, and maintaining ready-to-activate networks. Together, these capabilities are essential to delivering the 100 Days Mission and enabling equitable, rapid and resilient epidemic and pandemic responses.