Boston, MA 10/02/2014 (wallstreetpr) – Biopharmaceutical company, NewLink Genetics Corp (NASDAQ:NLNK), and a global healthcare company, GlaxoSmithKline plc (ADR) (NYSE:GSK), are working to develop vaccines to treat Ebola. The product is likely to come out in the first six months of the next year. Ebola virus has been spreading the world over after the latest outbreak in West Africa forcing to be notified as Public Health Emergency of global concern.
Ebola Vaccine
World Health Organization or WHO told the media that both the companies were conducting first stage studies presently or soon in over ten cities in North America, Europe and Africa, Reuters reported. The United Nations agency has hosted two-day meeting where 70 experts have participated and released a press statement on Ebola vaccine.
Assuming that everything was going as per the plan and best possible conditions such as safety in experimental stage and protection was conferred during the clinical trial period. WHO expects significant number of does of Ebola vaccines not before the late first quarter of the next year.
WHO Commitments
WHO said that its objective was to stop or spreading the outbreak of Ebola by continuing to have supervision for Ebola virus disease. Apart from supporting at-risk-prone nations to be prepared to face any eventuality arising out of the virus threat. The organization came out with an overall guideline to control the virus and its outbreaks.
The world body said that the first case of Ebola came to light in March this year and was considered as the biggest and most complex outbreak after Ebola virus was first noticed in 1976. It pointed out that there were more cases and deaths due to this outbreak than all others put together. The virus has spread like anything from Guinea to Sierra Leone to Nigeria to Senegal in quick time.
The worst affected by the Ebola virus was Guinea, Liberia, and Sierra Leone as their health systems were weak and lacked the infrastructure and human resources. The Director-General of WHO has declared on August 8 that Ebola outbreak was a public health emergency for the international community to be concerned with. Therefore, it was pushing the pharmaceutical companies to come out with a vaccine.
