Moderna given Health Canada clearance to start first human trial of Bundibugyo Ebola vaccine

Trial will run at three sites in Canada and aims to enroll about 80 healthy adults

Moderna on Tuesday said it has begun its first human trial of an experimental vaccine to protect against Bundibugyo ebolavirus, a strain of Ebola that has killed more than 1,650 people so far and currently has no approved vaccine.

The trial, backed by up to $50 million from CEPI, comes as the Congo outbreak surpasses 3,700 confirmed cases and 1,600 deaths

Canada is now the second country to authorize a Phase I clinical trial for a Bundibugyo virus vaccine candidate after the U.K., according to federal officials in a news release.