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Sabin Vaccine Institute Delivers Marburg Vaccines to Combat Outbreak in Rwanda

[Caption] Sabin Vaccine Institute delivered 700 doses of its Marburg vaccine to Rwanda on Oct. 5, 2024.

WASHINGTON, Oct. 05, 2024 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — The Sabin Vaccine Institute has provided its investigational Marburg vaccine to Rwanda to support the ongoing outbreak response. The initial shipment of approximately 700 vaccine doses will be used in a trial targeting frontline workers, including healthcare professionals who have been hardest hit by the deadly virus. 

Sabin has entered into a clinical trial agreement with the Rwanda Biomedical Centre, the trial sponsor, to provide investigational doses for the Phase 2 rapid response open–label study. Per the approved protocol, approximately 700 high–risk adults, starting with health care providers, will be dosed at 6 clinical trial sites in Rwanda. Pending a request from Rwandan officials and authorization from BARDA, Sabin plans to supply additional vaccines. 

Currently, there are no licensed vaccines or treatments for Marburg, which has a mortality rate of up to 88%. Sabin’s single–dose vaccine, based on the cAd3 platform, is in Phase 2 trials in Uganda and Kenya with no safety concerns reported to date. Results from Phase 1 clinical trials and nonclinical studies indicate that the vaccine is safe and elicits rapid, robust immune responses.

Rwanda declared the Marburg outbreak on September 27, and as of October 5, it had infected 46 people and claimed 12 lives. While most cases are among health workers in two facilities in Kigali, the capital, a smaller number are spread across a few other districts. 

Sabin has been working directly with Rwandan officials and partners since the outbreak began to mount a response.

“We were able to ship Marburg vaccine doses within 7 days of being contacted by the Rwanda government for assistance. Working alongside our partners, we moved with lightning speed to prepare shipments, finalize protocols, and secure the necessary regulatory and legal approvals,” says Sabin Chief Executive Officer Amy Finan. “This swift emergency response demonstrates that a dedicated, collaborative group of individuals and organizations can achieve remarkable results when united by a common cause: to contain a lethal disease outbreak and prevent further loss of life.” 

Rwanda’s Minister of Health Dr. Sabin Nsanzimana points out that “in emergency situations, the success of clinical trials relies on quick, strategic, global partnerships that bring together expertise, resources, and innovation. Today, a week after this Marburg outbreak was first confirmed, we are receiving doses of the Sabin Vaccine Institute’s Marburg vaccine candidate to protect our health workers and other high–risk groups, and also advance scientific tools which will ensure this virus can be effectively controlled now and in the future.” 

Sabin’s manufacturing partner, Italy–based ReiThera, has produced the drug substance and filled and finished doses for shipment to Rwanda. “At ReiThera, we believe in the transformative power of global collaboration to advance science and create lasting impact,” says ReiThera CEO Stefano Colloca. “Our partnership with Sabin highlights our shared commitment to developing a life–saving vaccine against Marburg disease with a mutual goal: to save lives and ensure that even the most vulnerable communities around the world have access to vital and equitable protection.” 

Once rare, Marburg virus disease outbreaks have surged in Africa in recent years, with incidents reported in 2023 in Tanzania (Rwanda's neighbor) and Equatorial Guinea. Marburg belongs to the same virus family as Ebola and is transmitted from fruit bats to humans, spreading from person to person through contact with infected bodily fluids. 

Sabin’s Phase 2 clinical trials for Marburg, which began last year, are currently monitoring participants in Uganda and Kenya, including younger (18–50 years) and older age groups (51–70 years). Interim results are expected next year, and Sabin also plans to launch a similar Phase 2 trial in the U.S. next year. 

Sabin’s development program, which includes clinical trials and manufacturing of clinical trial material that have been leveraged in this donation, is supported by the Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority (BARDA), part of the Administration for Strategic Preparedness and Response within the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, under multi–year contracts. BARDA has to date obligated $235 million to Sabin for advancing vaccine research and development against Sudan ebolavirus and Marburg virus diseases. 

In addition to ReiThera and Rwanda’s government, Sabin is grateful for all these organizations including CEPI, GSK, IQVIA, kENUP Africa, National Institutes of Health's Vaccine Research Center, WHO, and World Courier who have contributed to our past and current efforts.

About the Sabin Vaccine Institute

The Sabin Vaccine Institute is a leading advocate for expanding vaccine access and uptake globally, advancing vaccine research and development, and amplifying vaccine knowledge and innovation. Unlocking the potential of vaccines through partnership, Sabin has built a robust ecosystem of funders, innovators, implementers, practitioners, policy makers and public stakeholders to advance its vision of a future free from preventable diseases. As a non–profit with three decades of experience, Sabin is committed to finding solutions that last and extending the full benefits of vaccines to all people, regardless of who they are or where they live. At Sabin, we believe in the power of vaccines to change the world. For more information, visit www.sabin.org and follow us on X, @SabinVaccine.

Media Contact: 
Monika Guttman 
Media Relations Specialist 
Sabin Vaccine Institute 
+1 (202) 662–1841 
press@sabin.org 

A photo accompanying this announcement is available at https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/2e9400c0–1467–4956–b52d–64891ed3fc1d


GLOBENEWSWIRE (Distribution ID 9251765)

May Teacher Voices Echo Around the Globe

By Yasmine Sherif
NEW YORK, Oct 5 2024 – We must build a new social contract for education – a contract based on equality, equity, and universal human rights. At the center of our global efforts to ensure education for all, we must put teachers first in everything we do. They are frontlines heroes who deliver every day to educate children, cultivate young talent, and build a strong society. They are the substitute parents, the mentors and the ones who contribute to shaping the identify of a child in war, in refuge or in climate change.

On World Teachers’ Day, we commend the remarkable work done by teachers on the frontlines of the world’s most severe humanitarian crises. In places like Beirut, Democratic Republic of Congo, Gaza, Haiti, Sudan and Ukraine, these teachers work in dangerous conditions to provide girls and boys with the life-saving – and life-affirming – opportunity that only a quality education can provide.

As the global fund for education in emergencies and protracted crises within the United Nations, Education Cannot Wait (ECW) puts teacher voices first in everything we do. Last year alone, we provided training to more than 100,000 teachers (59% women) on topics ranging from mental health, education in science, technology, engineering and math, gender-inclusion and disaster risk reduction. Approximately 60% of our investments active in 2023 supported teacher recruitment and/or financial assistance to retain teachers, with a focus on equity and inclusivity. This collective work reached a total of 5.6 million crisis-impacted children and adolescents in 2023.

In Nigeria, where approximately 18 million children are out of school, bold and brave teachers like Hafsat are making a real difference. In the Hajj Camp in Borno State, Hafsat and other teachers like her are providing education for girls and boys that were either the children of armed group members or may have been child soldiers themselves. In this wild corner of North-East Nigeria, children are born from conflict and live in constant fear of abduction, forced recruitment, enslavement and sexual exploitation.

Imagine the difference Hafsat can make in the lives of her students, her community and the world as a whole; as she puts it: “I love children, and I also believe that my line of work is important for peacebuilding.”

We face a number of challenges in mobilizing, training and supporting teachers, especially on the frontlines of armed conflicts, forced displacement, the climate crisis and other humanitarian catastrophes. According to recent analysis from our partners UNESCO, 44 million additional teachers are needed to achieve universal primary and secondary education by 2030.

With more funding we can provide cash incentives to support teachers in the war zones and climate disasters around the globe. Besides being affected themselves, we also have to empower them. We can train teachers like Hafsat to deal with the unique needs of children who have lived through the horrors of war and terror. We can build the policies and systems in countries to ensure gender-inclusive education and encourage pupils to turn their resilience into power.

And we can work collectively to ensure coordinated and synchronized support across the humanitarian-development-peace nexus to connect teachers, students and the communities they serve to deliver on a new social contract based on universal values and universal human rights. Today, we honor all teachers in the most difficult situations in the world. Now, we must act.

 


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