Merck, NewLink Begin Phase III Trial of Ebola Vaccine

Merck & Co. Inc. (NYSE:MRK) and NewLink Genetics Corp. (NASDAQ:NLNK) announced that the third late-stage clinical trial of their Ebola vaccine candidate has started up in Sierra Leone.

As quoted in the press release:

The vaccine candidate was originally developed by the Public Health Agency of Canada’s National Microbiology Laboratory and licensed to NewLink Genetics in 2010. On Nov. 24, 2014, Merck and NewLink Genetics announced an exclusive licensing and collaboration agreement for the investigational Ebola vaccine.

The Phase II/ III safety and effectiveness study, called STRIVE (Sierra Leone Trial to Introduce aVaccine against Ebola) taking place in Sierra Leone will involve 6,000 health and other frontline workers and is being led by the Sierra Leone College of Medicine and Allied Health Sciences, Sierra Leone Ministry of Health and Sanitation, and the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

Mark Feinberg, chief public health and science officer at Merck Vaccines, commented:

Fighting Ebola remains a global health priority, and Merck is committed to advancing the development of our and NewLink’s vaccine candidate as part of our overall response to the crisis.

Click here to read the full Merck & Co. Inc. (NYSE:MRK) and NewLink Genetics Corp. (NASDAQ:NLNK) press release.