EU grant for Ebola research
October 23, 2014
The European Commission announced from Brussels on Thursday that 24.4 million euros from the EU budget would be spent on urgently needed Ebola research.
"We're in a race against time on Ebola, and we must address both the emergency situation and at the same time have a long term response," said outgoing President of the EU Commission, José Manuel Barroso.
The funding from the EU will be spent on five projects to help tackle the epidemic of the deadly hemorrhagic virus, including a large-scale clinical trial of a potential vaccine and the testing of existing and novel compounds to treat Ebola.
Humanitarian and development aid
The money will be provided from the EU research and innovation program, Horizon 2020, following proposals from teams from across both the EU as well as numerous non-EU countries.
The Commission said in a press release on its website that it was also currently working with researchers on the further development of vaccines, drugs and diagnostics for Ebola and other hemorrhagic diseases within the Innovative Medicines Initiative and has asked the European and Developing Countries Clinical Trials Partnership (EDCTP) to include emerging epidemics of concern to Africa, including Ebola, in its work plan.
Since the outbreak of the Ebola epidemic in March, the EU has provided 180 million euros of humanitarian and development aid to help the countries affected by the epidemic, where more than 4,500 people have died as a result of the virus.
'Stepping up medical research'
In Geneva on Thursday, the World Health Organization hosted a high level meeting, with the international community and industry representatives to discuss access to near-term vaccines and the financing of vaccine and immunization campaigns, as well as the design, production capacity, regulation and indemnity of clinical trials.
"With the WHO bringing the international community together in Geneva today, one of the most important messages is that we need to step up medical research on Ebola," said EU Research, Innovation and Science Commissioner Máire Geoghegan-Quinn. "These projects enlist the best academic researchers and industry to take the fight to this deadly disease."