Johnson & Johnson has formed a consortium, The Innovative Medicines Initiative (IMI), with global research institutions and non-government organizations to work with Janssen to accelerate the development of its Ebola vaccine regimen. The IMI plans to award grants totaling more than €100 million from the Ebola+ program to support the development, manufacture and patient education for the vaccine regimen.
 
Funding for the program comes in part from Horizon 2020, the EU’s research and innovation program, and contributions from the European Federation of Pharmaceutical Industries and Associations (EFPIA) partners. The funds support several consortia working together on a total of four projects. Three of the projects aim to address the need to accelerate Phase I, II and III trials and scale up production of the prime-boost vaccine regimen.
 
A Phase I trial is currently underway with trials in Africa being planned. Phase II and III trials in Europe and Africa will be carried out in parallel, subject to preliminary Phase I data. A total of eight projects are being funded under this round of the IMI’s Ebola+ program.
 
Organizations joining Janssen include the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine, University of Oxford, Institut National de la Sante et de la Recherche Medicale (INSERM), La Centre Muraz, Bavarian Nordic A/S, Vibalogics, Grameen Foundation and World Vision of Ireland.
 
“In the face of the global challenge of Ebola, bringing together the expertise and capabilities of the pharmaceutical industry, academic centers and NGOs will be critical to help solve this crisis,” said Paul Stoffels, M.D., chief scientific officer and worldwide chairman, Pharmaceuticals, Johnson & Johnson. “The European Commission’s support through IMI bolsters collaboration that should significantly accelerate efforts to help address this humanitarian crisis.”