The Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations, CEPI, has committed $4.17 million to four research projects aimed at determining whether existing Ebola vaccines can generate immune responses against the Bundibugyo Ebola virus.
CEPI disclosed this in a statement on Thursday, saying the studies would analyze stored blood samples from thousands of people previously vaccinated against Zaire ebolavirus, including recipients of the Ervebo vaccine.
The initiative comes amid an escalating outbreak of Bundibugyo Ebola virus in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, DRC, with the World Health Organization, WHO, declaring the situation a public health emergency of international concern in May.
CEPI Chief Executive Officer, Dr Richard Hatchett, said there was currently no licensed vaccine specifically approved for the Bundibugyo virus, while candidate vaccines under development would not be available during the earliest phase of the outbreak. He, however, noted that vaccines against the related Zaire ebolavirus, including Ervebo, were already available.
“Given the recent announcement that Ervebo will be deployed for emergency use against Bundibugyo virus, these CEPI-backed studies will be all the more important to inform on how we can make the best use of the existing vaccine,” Hatchett said.
According to CEPI, the studies will help researchers establish and standardize antibody tests for Bundibugyo virus, assess the durability of immune responses and generate evidence to support future clinical trials and vaccination strategies.
The organization said the WHO Technical Advisory Group on Candidate Vaccine Prioritization had recommended that Ervebo be evaluated in a Phase Three clinical trial alongside Bundibugyo-specific vaccine candidates when they become available.
CEPI also noted that authorities in the DRC, alongside the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention, had announced plans to deploy Ervebo to priority groups under a protocol-governed expanded-use arrangement.
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Under the research programme, the University of California, Los Angeles, UCLA, Fielding School of Public Health will receive $2.05 million to examine immune responses among recipients of Ervebo and Ad26.ZEBOV/MVA-BN-Filo vaccines.
The UCLA study will draw on data from more than 1,700 participants and approximately 1,800 stored serum samples.
Prof. Anne Rimoin, Professor of Epidemiology at UCLA, said the university’s long-standing partnership with the National Institute of Biomedical Research in the DRC had provided access to relevant cohorts and laboratory expertise. “When an outbreak is moving this quickly, we cannot afford to start from zero,” Rimoin said.
The Institute of Tropical Medicine, ITM, Antwerp, will receive $1.02 million for its EBO-BOOST-BRIDGE project, which will analyze samples from more than 600 participants to assess possible cross-protection against Bundibugyo virus and other related viruses.
CEPI said the project would also transfer laboratory methods to the National Institute of Biomedical Research in the DRC, with the first antibody results expected within two to six months.
The University of Oxford’s Nuffield Department of Medicine, Centre for Human Genetics and Pandemic Sciences Institute, will receive $975,000 to test blood samples from Ervebo recipients and survivors of Zaire ebolavirus disease.
The study will assess whether vaccine-induced or naturally acquired immunity could potentially provide protection against Bundibugyo virus.
Prof. Miles Carroll, Professor of Emerging Viruses at the University of Oxford and lead investigator of the study, said the findings would provide important information for decisions on rapid vaccine deployment.
The MRC-University of Glasgow Centre for Virus Research will receive the remaining $120,000 to examine samples from vaccinated close contacts and Ugandan healthcare workers.
The study will seek to establish whether antibodies generated by Ervebo can also recognize the Bundibugyo virus.
CEPI said the four awards were selected through its June 2026 Call for Proposals, which sought to generate evidence to support Bundibugyo vaccine research and development.
The organization added that the programme was supported by the European Commission through a 2026 Horizon Europe grant, the U.S. Department of State and CEPI’s existing core funding.
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