Merck-Wellcome Joint Venture to Manufacture Experimental Ebola Vaccine for Congo Outbreak

Jul 30, 2026

As a fast-spreading Bundibugyo Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of Congo claims 1,487 lives, Hilleman Laboratories—a Merck-Wellcome joint venture—partners with the International AIDS Vaccine Initiative to manufacture an experimental vaccine. Backed by $8.5 million from CEPI, the effort leverages Merck's technical expertise to prepare clinical trial doses by late 2026, while parallel trials evaluate therapeutic drugs.

Bundibugyo Ebola outbreak in Congo

▪The Ebola outbreak in the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo is caused by the rare Bundibugyo strain, for which there are no approved vaccines or treatments.
▪An Ebola outbreak in the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo has infected 3,360 people and killed 1,487 as of July 29, 2026.

Hilleman-IAVI vaccine manufacturing effort

▪Hilleman Laboratories, a Singapore-based joint venture between Merck and Wellcome, is preparing to manufacture doses of an experimental Bundibugyo Ebola vaccine developed by the International AIDS Vaccine Initiative.
▪Hilleman Laboratories will use starting material from the International AIDS Vaccine Initiative to produce finished vaccine doses for early-stage clinical trials, which could be ready by the end of 2026.

CEPI funding for vaccine candidates

▪The Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations committed up to $50 million to develop a Bundibugyo Ebola vaccine candidate with Moderna.
▪The Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations is funding a separate Bundibugyo vaccine candidate from the University of Oxford with up to $8.6 million.
▪The Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations is providing up to $8.5 million in funding to support the Hilleman Laboratories vaccine manufacturing effort.

Merck rVSV platform technical expertise

▪Merck will serve as a technical adviser, contributing scientific and manufacturing expertise on the recombinant vesicular stomatitis virus platform to Hilleman Laboratories.
▪The experimental International AIDS Vaccine Initiative vaccine uses the recombinant vesicular stomatitis virus platform, which is the same platform used for Merck's approved Ervebo vaccine.
▪Merck and the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations partnered earlier in 2026 on a $30 million program to update the manufacturing processes of the Ervebo vaccine.

Treatment trials for Bundibugyo Ebola

▪Clinical trials are underway testing Mapp Biopharmaceuticals' pan-Ebola virus antibody drug MBP134 and Gilead Sciences' antiviral remdesivir, both alone and in combination.

Antibody therapies under WHO consideration

▪The World Health Organization is considering clinical trials of Regeneron's antibody drug maftivimab in combination with two other antibodies, alongside Gilead Sciences' oral antiviral drug obeldesivir.