TheCable

 fever vacc

Nigeria is among the three countries to benefit from the opportunity, according to the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations (CEPI), which provided the funding alongside the European & Developing Countries Clinical Trials Partnership (EDCTP).

CEPI estimates there are between 300,000 to 500,000 cases of Lassa fever each year across West Africa.

On the average, one percent of cases are fatal, but despite the disease burden, there is still no vaccine for Lassa fever.

Jodie Rogers, a spokesperson for CEPI, said in a statement on Tuesday that thorough the funding, IAVI will work with other collaborators in the Lassa fever vaccine efficacy and prevention for West Africa (LEAP4WA) consortium.

They will be conducting a “phase IIb clinical trial of IAVI’s Lassa fever vaccine candidate among adults and children in Liberia, Nigeria, and Sierra Leone”, Rogers added.

He further said: “This will also support the strengthening of capacity of investigational sites in countries where Lassa fever outbreaks occur frequently.

“One of the collaborators in the consortium is HJF Medical Research International Ltd/Gte, Nigeria, which facilitates basic research, scientific trials, clinical care, training, capacity-building, and facility management specific to the needs of research programmes in Nigeria.”

In February, INOVIO, a biotechnology company, announced that a Phase 1B clinical trial for its vaccine candidate for Lassa fever has begun in Ghana.