Phase III Trial of the Merck and NewLink Genetics Investigational Ebola Vaccine Initiated in Sierra Leone
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Merck, known as MSD outside the United States and Canada, and NewLink Genetics Corporation, confirmed that the third, late-stage, clinical trial of their Ebola vaccine candidate rVSV-ZEBOV-GP (V920) has been initiated in Sierra Leone. The vaccine candidate was originally developed by the Public Health Agency of Canada’s National Microbiology Laboratory and licensed to NewLink Genetics in 2010. On Nov. 24, 2014, Merck and NewLink Genetics announced an exclusive licensing and collaboration agreement for the investigational Ebola vaccine.
The Phase II/ III safety and effectiveness study, called STRIVE (Sierra Leone Trial to Introduce a Vaccine against Ebola) taking place in Sierra Leone will involve 6,000 health and other frontline workers and is being led by the Sierra Leone College of Medicine and Allied Health Sciences, Sierra Leone Ministry of Health and Sanitation, and the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).