- Minapharm Group will receive up to $16.5 million from CEPI to advance its Bundibugyo ebolavirus vaccine candidate through preclinical development and into a Phase 1 clinical trial.
- The vaccine uses ProBioGen’s proprietary MVA-CR19 platform and is planned for development and manufacturing across Minapharm and ProBioGen facilities in Egypt and Germany.
Minapharm Group will receive up to $16.5 million from the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations (CEPI) to advance development of its Bundibugyo ebolavirus vaccine candidate. The funding will support preclinical development and an early-stage Phase 1 trial assessing the candidate’s safety and immunogenicity, with the human study expected to take place in Africa.
The vaccine was designed by ProBioGen, a Berlin-based Minapharm subsidiary, using its proprietary modified vaccinia Ankara (MVA) platform, MVA-CR19. The candidate is designed to induce both B- and T-cell responses. Minapharm said it is the only Bundibugyo vaccine candidate currently funded by CEPI with this design.
Under the program, ProBioGen will generate the recombinant MVA drug substance under GMP guidelines in Germany. The drug substance will then be shipped to Minapharm’s facility in Cairo to produce the finished vaccine. In parallel, Minapharm plans to transfer drug substance manufacturing to its biotechnology facilities in Cairo, with the goal of enabling fully local drug substance and drug product manufacturing.
The project builds on more than 25 years of Minapharm’s biologics development and manufacturing experience in Africa. If the Phase 1 trial is successful, CEPI anticipates working with Minapharm and ProBioGen on later-stage trials to generate efficacy data for emergency use authorization and licensure. CEPI said its goal is to advance at least two Bundibugyo vaccines toward Emergency Use Authorization and World Health Organization Prequalification.
“CEPI’s funding to Minapharm harnesses the growing strength of African-led innovation to help confront this increasingly severe outbreak and prepare for future threats.”
Dr. Richard Hatchett, CEO of CEPI
