Oxford’s Ebola vaccine candidate has been shipped to Uganda, just 80 days after the World Health Organisation (WHO) declared a Sudan ebolavirus outbreak, having been manufactured by its partner the Serum Institute of India (SII) and working in close partnership with WHO.

Following presentation of key data to the WHO generated in Oxford by Prof Lambe's team, it was announced on 17th November that the vaccine had been recommended for inclusion in a ring vaccination trial to combat a Sudan ebolavirus outbreak in Uganda.

The WHO working in partnership with the Ugandan government and Ministry of Health have enabled the ring vaccination trial as part of a multi-faceted effort to curb the outbreak and save lives.

The Oxford team led by Prof Lambe have been working on the vaccine for some time, including ongoing clinical trials in Oxford and Tanzania; manufacture scale-up was led by the Serum Institute and supported by Prof Sandy Douglas, of the Jenner Institute. This research was funded by the Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC). SII, who also partnered with the University to manufacture the COVID-19 vaccine, produced 40,000 doses for the trial in just a few short weeks.