Health Canada Approves Moderna’s Ebola Vaccine Trial for Bundibugyo Outbreak Health Canada has authorized Moderna to proceed with a clinical trial for its mRNA-1469 vaccine, designed to target the Bundibugyo species of Ebola virus linked to the ongoing outbreak in the Democratic Republic of Congo. The first volunteers have already received the vaccine, marking a significant step in the global effort to develop a treatment for a strain that has claimed over 1,700 lives in the region. This trial will be the first of its kind in Canada, as the country joins international efforts to combat the virus. The Bundibugyo species of Ebola, which has not been previously detected in Canada, has caused a massive outbreak in the DRC, with the World Health Organization declaring it a public health emergency of international concern. Health Canada’s approval of the trial, announced on July 30, allows Moderna to begin its Phase 1 study, which will focus on evaluating the vaccine’s safety, determining the appropriate dosage, monitoring for side effects, and studying the immune response in participants. The trial will enroll 80 healthy adults across Truro, Halifax, and Toronto, with the first volunteer receiving the vaccine on Monday in Truro, Nova Scotia. Moderna’s executive director of global health security and R&D partnerships, Hamilton Bennett, highlighted Canada’s role in the trial, citing the country’s regulatory framework, prior experience with early-phase trials, and contributions to filovirus research. “Canadian researchers and participants are contributing an important first step in a broader international effort to develop a vaccine against a form of Ebola for which no approved protection is currently available,” Bennett stated in an email.#democratic_republic_of_congo #health_canada #moderna #bundibugyo_ebola #university_of_oxford
