Pune, 27th July 2026: Pune-based Serum Institute of India (SII) has played a crucial role in a major global medical breakthrough as the world's first vaccine against the Bundibugyo strain of the Ebola virus entered human clinical trials.
The first volunteer received the vaccine at the University of Oxford on July 24, marking the beginning of the first-ever human study for a vaccine targeting this strain, for which no approved vaccine currently exists.
The vaccine has been developed by scientists from the Oxford Vaccine Group and the Pandemic Sciences Institute, using the same ChAdOx1 viral vector technology that was successfully used in the Oxford-AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine. Serum Institute partnered in the project by manufacturing the vaccine and supporting its large-scale production for clinical use.
As part of the program, the Pune-based vaccine maker has manufactured around 620,000 doses of the vaccine and supplied the initial batches required for the Phase I clinical trial.
The study will enrole healthy volunteers aged 18 to 55 years, with researchers assessing the vaccine's safety and its ability to generate an immune response before advancing to larger trials, including in Uganda.
Ebola is one of the world's deadliest viral diseases, causing severe fever, vomiting, diarrhoea and, in critical cases, internal and external bleeding. Although vaccines are available for some Ebola virus species, no licensed vaccine currently protects against the Bundibugyo strain, making this research particularly significant as outbreaks continue to occur in parts of Africa, including the Democratic Republic of the Congo.
Researchers said the vaccine progressed from concept to human testing in just eight weeks, highlighting the speed of modern vaccine development. Supported by the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations (CEPI), the trial is expected to provide crucial data that could pave the way for the world's first approved vaccine against the Bundibugyo Ebola virus and strengthen global preparedness for future outbreaks.
