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- Title
From discovery to delivery: public sector development of the rVSV-ZEBOV Ebola vaccine.
- Authors
Herder, Matthew; Graham, Janice E; Gold, Richard
- Abstract
The discovery and development of the Ebola r VSV-ZEBOV vaccine challenge the common assumption that the research and development for innovative therapeutic products and vaccines is best carried out by the private sector. Using internal government documents obtained through an access to information request, we analyze the development of r VSV-ZEBOV by researchers at Canada's National Microbiology Laboratory beyond its patenting and licensing to a biotech company in the United States in 2010. According to government documentation, the company failed to make any progress toward a phase 1 clinical trial until after the WHO Public Health Emergency of International Concern freed substantial donor and public funds for the vaccine's further development. The development of r VSV-ZEBOV, from sponsoring early stage research through to carrying out clinical trials during the epidemic, was instead the result of the combined efforts of the Canadian government, its researchers, and other publicly funded institutions. This case study of r VSV-ZEBOV underscores the significant public contribution to the R&D of vaccines even under conditions of precarity, and suggests that an alternative approach to generating knowledge and developing interventions, such as open science, is required in order to fully realize the public sector's contribution to improved global health.
- Subjects
EBOLA virus disease vaccines; VACCINE development; EPIDEMICS; PUBLIC sector; CLINICAL trials
- Publication
Journal of Law & the Biosciences, 2020, Vol 7, Issue 1, p1
- ISSN
2053-9711
- Publication type
Article
- DOI
10.1093/jlb/lsz019