There are five known Ebolavirus species: Ebola virus (Zaire ebolavirus); Sudan virus (Sudan ebolavirus or SUDV); Taï Forest virus (Taï Forest ebolavirus, formerly Cote d'Ivoire ebolavirus); Bundibugyo virus (Bundibugyo ebolavirus); and Reston virus (Reston ebolavirus). Last year an ebolavirus outbreak resulted in 164 cases and 55 deaths. While there is an FDA-approved Ebola virus vaccine authorized for use against Ebola virus infections, ERVEBO, this vaccine is not effective against SUDV due to the significant variation between Ebola virus and SUDV. ERVEBO is a live recombinant viral vaccine consisting of a vesicular stomatitis virus (VSV) backbone deleted for the VSV envelope glycoprotein and substituted with the envelope glycoprotein of the Ebola virus (Kikwit 1995 strain).

This invention provides a VSV-based vaccine expressing the SUDV-Gulu GP (VSV-SUDV). The VSV backbone of this vaccine appears to be very similar to the VSV backbone used in the ERVEBO vaccine discussed above. This could allow for a quicker and more efficient regulatory approval pathway through the FDA. Efficacy studies in non-human primates demonstrated that a single intramuscular vaccination protected animals from a lethal challenge dose of SUDV even when vaccination occurred only seven days prior to challenge. In addition, pre-exposure to the VSV vector did not inhibit a robust response to the SUDV GP component of the vaccine.