Chapter 6: Vaccine Development in the Midst of Ebolavirus Disease Outbreaks

The requirements to gain licensure and manufacture a vaccine for human use are multifaceted, costly, and time-consuming. Despite the expenditure and challenges, preventative vaccines are considered one of the most cost-effective and efficient means to contain outbreaks and prevent epidemics. In the face of the 2013–2016 Ebolavirus disease (EVD) outbreak, which was the largest EVD outbreak to date and the third Public Health Emergency of International Concern in history, numerous partners from the public and private sectors combined efforts and resources to develop an investigational Zaire ebolavirus (EBOV) vaccine candidate (rVSVΔG–ZEBOV–GP) as quickly as possible. The rVSVΔG–ZEBOV–GP vaccine was approved as ERVEBO™ by the EMA and FDA in late 2019 after five years of clinical development. This chapter describes the development program of this EBOV vaccine.