First phase of Ebola vaccine tests successful, GSK says

An Ebola vaccine developed by Glaxosmithkline (GSK) has passed its first phase trial after testing 20 volunteers in the US.The British drugmaker said the vaccine was "well-tolerated" and produced an immunological response in all the volunteers.The vaccine, produced by the National Institutes of Health (NIH) in the US, uses a type of chimpanzee cold virus as a carrier to deliver genetic material from two strains which are responsible for the Ebola outbreak.If successful, it will provide protection from early 2015 to healthcare workers who are in the frontline against the epidemic in Sierra Leone and Liberia.However, the initial stock of vaccine doses is not expected to be enough to address the number of reported infections.Moncef Slaoui, chairman of Global Vaccines at GSK, said: "We are very encouraged by these positive first trial results showing this type of vaccine has an acceptable safety profile and can produce an immune response against Ebola in humans."Working with partners including the NIH, we're doing all we can to advance development of a candidate vaccine in response to the Ebola crisis in west Africa."Shares in GSK were up 0.05% to 1465.25p at 10:48 on Thursday.