Marburg Vaccines 2023

Marburg Vaccines June 2023

Marburg virus disease (MVD) is a severe disease that has infected humans since 1967. The European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC) recently reported no Marburg Virus (MARV) disease vaccines are available. However, as of April 15, 2023, several MARV vaccine candidates are conducting early-stage clinical studies. In addition, the World Health Organization (WHO) published the Marburg virus vaccine development landscape on February 13, 2023.

The MARV outbreak in Guinea and Ghana in 2021 triggered the assembly of the MARV vaccine "MARVAC" consortium in October 2022. PLOS Pathogens published on October 13, 2022, a MARVAC discussion of current progress, challenges, and future directions for MARV vaccines. On March 30, 2022, the WHO R&D Blueprint team defined the Strategic Agenda for Filovirus Research and Monitoring (AFIRM) to establish research priorities for developing vaccines targeting filovirus diseases during the next decade. William Dowling, Ph.D., Head of Preclinical Development, CEPI, presented: the WHO's Emergency Meeting Vaccine R&D Blueprint during the MARVAC meeting on February 14, 2023. 

On April 4, 2023, the WHO Technical Advisory Group summarized the evaluations and recommendations on the four Marburg vaccine candidates.

Marburg Vaccine Candidates

The Sabin Vaccine Institute, the U.S. National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), and the U.S. Military HIV Research Program vaccine candidate ChAd3-MARV targets against the Marburg virus. The Lancet published research on January 28, 2023, confirming cAd3-Marburg vaccine candidate uses a modified chimpanzee adenovirus, and showed the agent is safe and immunogenic, with a safety profile similar to previously tested cAd3-vectored filovirus vaccines. 

Janssen Vaccines & Prevention B.V. and the NIAID launched a phase 1 study on August 9, 2016, evaluating AD26 FILO + MVA-BN-FILO's safety, Tolerability, and Immunogenicity of Heterologous Prime-boost Regimens Using the Multivalent Filovirus Vaccines Ad26.Filo and MVA-BN-Filo Administered in Different Sequences and Schedules in Healthy Adults.

IAVI's single-dose rVSVΔG-MARV-GP vaccine candidate against Marburg virus. Recently published preclinical data demonstrates that a single dose of the vaccine candidate is 100% efficacious at preventing MVD in nonhuman primates.

London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine - Ebola viruses, MARV GPs, and Tai Forest NP have been included in the modified vaccinia Ankara (MVA) vector vaccine (Ad26.ZEBOV, MVA-BN-Filo) in Phase 2, open-label, clinical trial that launched on March 17, 2022. This study evaluated the safety and immunogenicity of the 2-dose vaccination regimen in adults and children initially enrolled in the control arm of the EBOVAC-Salone study.

Blue Water Vaccines Inc. and AbVacc, Inc. are developing vaccine candidates targeting MVD utilizing BWV's norovirus shell and protrusion virus-like particle platform. In May 2021, IBT was awarded a $16.3M contract from the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases to support manufacturing and a Phase 1 clinical trial for IBT-T03H within BWV's VLP platform.

GeoVax Inc. vaccine candidate GEO-MM01 against the Marburg virus conferred 80% survival in cynomolgus macaques following a lethal dose of the Marburg virus on April 5, 2023. Vaccination protected nonhuman primates from viremia, weight loss, and death following challenges with a lethal Marburg virus dose. Evaluation of immune responses following vaccination demonstrated the presence of both neutralizing antibodies and functional T cells, indicating a breadth of responses that combine for optimal protection.

The University of Texas Medical Branch in Galveston was awarded nearly $25 million from the U.S. government in January 2023 to develop vaccines to protect against infection, including Marburg.

On October 27, 2021, Orgininal Research demonstrated that the VSV-MARV is a fast-acting vaccine suitable for use in emergencies like disease outbreaks in Africa. Furthermore, data published on February 10, 2023, highlights VSV-MARV as a viable and fast-acting MARV vaccine candidate, supports the administration of a single low-dose vaccine in an emergency outbreak, and decreases the chances of vaccine-induced adverse events. 

Marburg Outbreaks 2023

As of June 2023, various African countries reported Marburg disease cases, deaths, and outbreaks.

Marburg Vaccine News 2023

March 2, 2023 - IAVI announced the Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority funded additional development and testing of IAVI's single-dose vaccine candidates against the filoviruses, including the Marburg virus.

February 15, 2023 - The journal Nature published: Marburg virus outbreak: researchers race to test vaccines.

January 30, 2023 - The U.S. NIH published a paper in The Lancet showing that the first-in-human, Phase 1 study tested an experimental MARV vaccine candidate, known as cAd3-Marburg, developed at NIAID's Vaccine Research Center.