United Kingdom-based GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) plc has offered its technology license for its clinical-stage Ebola vaccines to the Sabin Vaccine Institute, a United States-based non-profit organisation that promotes global vaccine development, it was reported yesterday.

The contracts between both firms have been signed for progressing the development of the prophylactic candidate Ebola vaccines against the Ebola Zaire, Ebola Sudan and the Marburg virus. According to the contracts, Sabin has also acquired certain patent rights regarding the Ebola vaccines. The three candidate vaccines were developed initially through a partnership between the US National Institutes of Health and Okairos that was acquired by GSK in 2013. GSK says that the three ChAd3-based vaccines have so far shown a strong safety profile and promising immunogenicity results after being administered to over 5,000 adults and 600 children, in 13 different clinical trials.

GSK Vaccines chief medical officer, Thomas Breuer, said, 'These agreements with the Sabin Vaccine Institute are an important next step in the fight against Ebola and Marburg viruses. Enabling Sabin to build on the scientific progress GSK has delivered up to Phase II increases the likelihood these candidate vaccines may help prevent potential future outbreaks, and exemplifies GSK's approach to global health vaccines which supports partners in taking forward our innovations in a sustainable way.'