RWANDA BIOMEDICAL CENTRE

Rwanda combats Rift Valley Fever outbreak with heightened surveillance and vaccination campaigns, but rapid diagnostic tests are unavailable, hindering early detection. A human vaccine candidate, ChAdOx1 RVF, enters Phase II trials in Kenya, offering hope for protection against the disease.

ReiThera partnered with Sabin Vaccine Institute to manufacture and ship Marburg virus vaccines to Rwanda, with 700 doses administered to frontline workers in a Phase II trial. The trial, sponsored by Rwanda Biomedical Centre, aims to determine safety, tolerability, and immunogenicity, with ongoing trials in Uganda and Kenya. ReiThera produced the vaccine using its ChAd3 platform, a safe and immunogenic chimpanzee adenovirus-based vector, and can scale production up to 2000-liter bioreactors. Marburg virus disease has a high fatality rate, and vaccines are crucial for outbreak containment.

In September 2024, Rwanda reported its first Marburg outbreak, prompting swift action by health authorities. Marburg, similar to Ebola, causes hemorrhagic fever with high mortality rates. It spreads through bodily fluids and requires close contact. While there is no cure, experimental vaccines are being tested, including the Sabin vaccine deployed in Rwanda.

Rwanda to start a vaccine study against Marburg hemorrhagic fever, targeting health workers and contacts of confirmed cases. The country received 700 doses from the U.S.-based Sabin Vaccine Institute. There is no authorized vaccine or treatment for Marburg, which can be fatal in up to 88% of cases. Rwanda has 46 confirmed cases and 400 identified contacts.

Sabin Vaccine Institute delivered 700 Marburg vaccine doses to Rwanda for a Phase 2 trial targeting frontline workers, amid a Marburg outbreak that has infected 46 and killed 12. The vaccine, based on the cAd3 platform, is in Phase 2 trials in Uganda and Kenya, with no safety concerns reported. Sabin plans to supply additional vaccines pending Rwandan officials' request and BARDA authorization.