J&J’s Ebola Vaccine Generates Robust Antibody Responses

Johnson & Johnson recently announced that its Ebola vaccine regimen, Zabdeno and Mvabea, generated robust antibody immune responses in children and adults. 

The Phase 3 EBOVAC-Salone clinical study was divided into two stages to uncover the safety and immunogenicity of the two-dose vaccine regimen. Zabdeno was the first dose vaccination in the regimen, and Mvabea was the second dose vaccination 56 days later. 

In stage one, 43 vaccinated adults aged 18 or older helped gather information about the safety and immunogenicity of the two-dose vaccine regimen. In stage two, researchers enrolled 400 vaccinated adults and 576 vaccinated children. 

Published in The Lancet Infectious Diseases, the study also showed that booster vaccination with Zabdeno induced a strong immune response within seven days after administration.

Overall, the vaccine regimen was well tolerated and induced antibody responses to the Zaire ebolavirus species 21 days after the second dose in 98 percent of all participants.

Notably, researchers found no safety signals of concern.

“These peer-reviewed data support the prophylactic use of the Johnson & Johnson Ebola vaccine regimen to protect people at risk of Ebola, which is essential to our vision of preventing Ebola outbreaks before they can begin,” Paul Stoffels, MD, vice chairman of the executive committee and chief scientific officer of Johnson & Johnson, said in the announcement.

Researchers conducted the EBOVAC-Salone study in Sierra Leone. The study is the first to assess the safety and tolerability of the Johnson & Johnson Ebola vaccine regimen in adults in a region affected by the 2014 to 2016 West African Ebola outbreak, a Johnson & Johnson spokesperson explained.

EBOVAC-Salone is also the first study to evaluate the Ebola vaccine regimen in a randomized, double-blind, controlled trial in a pediatric population. 

In May 2021, Johnson & Johnson donated thousands of its Ebola vaccines to support the World Health Organization’s early access clinical program to prevent Ebola in West Africa. 

“Recent and ongoing outbreaks in Africa underscore that the threat of Ebola is not going away, which is why we collaborated to develop a vaccine regimen capable of inducing long-term immunity against Ebola and are now working to ensure that it is accessible to people in need,” Stoffels continued. 

The company will continue long-term follow-up of the study participants.