LONDON, Oct 29 (Reuters) - Trials of an experimental vaccinedeveloped by the Canadian government and licensed to NewLinkGenetics will begin swiftly in healthy volunteers inEurope, Gabon and Kenya, under a programme with funding from theWellcome Trust.
A $5 million grant from the medical charity will allowseveral global partners, overseen by the World HealthOrganization (WHO), to gather essential safety data for theso-called rVSV-EBOV vaccine.
The vaccine is already undergoing initial testing in theUnited States and is one of two to have been injected intopeople in clinical trials. The other, from GlaxoSmithKline, is also being tested in Europe and Africa.
Wellcome said on Wednesday that 335 volunteers would bevaccinated in total in the new trials, starting with 20 inGermany, followed by 100 in each of Gabon and Kenya, and then115 in Switzerland.
Canada has donated 800 vials of the vaccine, which wasdeveloped by the Public Health Agency of Canada, to be used inthe trials.
The WHO said the death toll from the world's worst Ebolaoutbreak in West Africa was likely more than 5,000 out of nearly14,000 cases and the death rate was running at 70 percent,although it was better for people in treatment centres.
Drugmakers are racing to develop Ebola vaccines but theyface a series of hurdles if they are to get millions of dosesready for use next year as hoped. (Reporting by Ben Hirschler; Editing by Clara Ferreira Marques)