As Ebola sweeps through parts of the Democratic Republic of Congo, there's now a
race on to develop a vaccine. The Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations, or SEPI
says it will give about $60 million to drug maker Moderna and two other groups. That's to
fund development of a vaccine for the rare bundibugio strain of the virus which is behind
the outbreak. SEPI Chief Executive Richard Hatchett was hopeful of speedy progress. They
demonstrated in COVID that they could get to clinical trials in around 2 months. Yeah, we're
saying it's possible. We're not making any promises, but he cautioned that medicine
development can be unpredictable, while the complex security situation in eastern Congo
will make trials complex. There are currently no approved vaccines or treatments for the
Bundibugio strain. The outbreak has caused over 280 confirmed cases and more than 40
deaths. That's according to the World Health Organization and other bodies which say there
are over 1000 more suspected cases. Besides Moderna, some investment will go to a drug
developed by Britain's University of Oxford and made by the Serum Institute of India. It
uses the same technology as a shot developed for COVID-19 and could be ready for trials in
around 6 weeks. There will also be money for a treatment produced by the International AIDS
Vaccine Initiative, based on a shot for a different Ebola strain. Other bodies, including
the World Bank's Pandemic Fund, have separately announced grants for vaccine
development.