This is the first-in-human trial of the ChAdOx1 Marburg vaccine, which has been developed and manufactured by researchers at the University of Oxford.
Forty-six people aged 18 to 55 will participate in the trial in Oxford, which will be led by the Oxford Vaccine Group. The research was funded by the Department of Health and Social Care as part of the UK Vaccine Network (UKVN), a UK Aid programme to develop vaccines for diseases with epidemic potential in low and middle-income countries.
Marburg virus is a highly virulent disease in the same family as Ebola (a filovirus). Since the first cases identified in 1967, there have been multiple outbreaks of the highly-fatal disease across Sub-Saharan Africa, including most recently in Tanzania and Equatorial Guinea in 2023.
Professor Teresa Lambe OBE, the trial’s Lead Scientific Investigator and Professor of Vaccinology at Oxford Vaccine Group and the Pandemic Sciences Institute, University of Oxford said:
“Although outbreaks of Marburg virus have historically been small, this devastating disease has started to spread even further and the potential to cause a pandemic and inflict suffering on many is a real concern.
“With no approved treatments for Marburg, developing a vaccine is critical. This Oxford trial is a first step towards developing a safe and effective vaccine to protect people from future outbreaks.”
Marburg virus disease is a zoonotic disease which can be transmitted between humans through direct contact and bodily fluids, often meaning health workers are those most likely to get infected.
The disease can lead to haemorrhagic fever (impaired blood clotting leading to widespread bleeding) and encephalitis (inflammation of the brain) and has an estimated case fatality rate of up to 88% based on previous outbreaks.
Marburg virus disease is one of the diseases designated by the World Health Organization as a priority disease for research and development, and it is also listed as a high consequence infectious disease by the UK Health Security Agency.