Nigerian vaccinologist makes presentation on experimental Ebola vaccine at scientific conference

A Nigerian vaccinologist, Dr Simon Agwale, has presented the report of an experimental vaccine for the dreaded Ebola virus disease to a scientific conference in France.

A statement from Dr Yuri Nakamoto on behalf of the scientific committee of the conference organised by the Pasteur Institute, Paris, said the report was one of the items discussed at the two-day conference.

The International Conference on Targeting Ebola had more than 300 delegates from 42 countries
in attendance, Nakamoto said in the statement.

He said that the agenda of the conference included 140 oral, short and posters communications, latest developments in the Ebola outbreak in Africa, and latest clinical developments.

Others were latest innovations, vaccines and drugs to combat Ebola, and prevention of Ebola contamination and transmission, to be published by the committee.

“Agwale, alongside Epie E. and Pushko P. of Innovative Biotech Ltd, Keffi, Nasarawa State, and Innovative Biotech USA Inc, made a presentation on ‘Construction and Evaluation of a Highly Immunogenic EBOLA Influenza VLP Vaccine Candidate’.

“They prepared and evaluated EBOV VLPs that included GP of EBOV Zaire strain in which VLPs were expressed using recombinant baculovirus in Sf9 cells.

He quoted the researchers as saying that they had developed and evaluated an EBOV candidate vaccine that was highly immunogenic in mice.

“Given the immediate need for an Ebola vaccine and the efficiency, safety and adaptability of our VLP platform technology, we are confident in producing a high yield, high quality product using the most cost effective methodologies available,’’ they said.

The researchers said that the vaccine approach could be used for mass vaccination in Africa to prevent EBOV infections and future epidemics of the deadly disease.

They announced that they were also using their platform technology to develop vaccines against HIV, malaria and other diseases that plaque Africa.

The outbreak of the Ebola virus disease in some West African countries in 2014 claimed more than 10,000 lives.