Vaccines For Ebola And Zika: Drug Makers Enhance Initiatives To Avert Outbreak

Currently, Ebola and Zika epidemics are creating a great headache for the doctors and the drug makers. Some of the key drug makers enhance their initiatives to develop new vaccines to avert pandemics. The companies have taken all the efforts to tame the difficult situation.

Pharmaceutical companies like Johnson & Johnson, GlaxoSmithKlinePlc, and Sanofi are taking collective initiatives with the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations.  The Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations has already raised a fund of $460 million. It is a unique effort to block the outbreak of Ebola and Zika. Even Pfizer Inc. is ready to offer its co-operation.

The $460 million is collected from the governments of Japan, Norway, and Germany. Even Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and the Wellcome Trust are also key parts of this huge collection of the fund. Bloomberg reports that GlaxoSmithKlinePlc is ready with the scientist and the technology to enhance the effort.

Andrew Witty, the Chief Executive Officer, said that Glaxo is ready to proceed with the proposed biopreparedness facility to invent new vaccines. He uttered that "phase II completed vaccines" are ready to fight the risk of pathogens. He stressed on the preparedness.

The aim of the collective effort of these Pharmaceutical companies is to develop the vaccines to protect people from the sudden emerge of viruses. The coalition will spend half of the collected money in the first five years. The preparation "will target the MERS, Lassa and Nipah viruses first".

India will help to fund the initiatives as a co-founder of the group. Famous personality Bill Gates opines that Ebola and Zika indicate the unpreparedness to face any sudden outbreak.  The Recent outbreak of Ebola eliminated 11,000 lives in West Africa.

Reports unveil that unit for Glaxo's biopreparedness would be based in Maryland and the Rockville. Even the company has already opened a global development center for vaccine research. The company is trying to avail all available technologies.

Ripley Ballou, the head of the Glaxo's global vaccines research and development center, said that the company is working with the latest technologies to provide faster response to tackle sudden emergency. The company is dealing with the mRNA, one of the modern technologies. The US National Institute of Health and Glaxo jointly started the evaluation of the mRNA from last year.

The technology is used to create a breakthrough to tame the Zika. Ripley Ballou has reported that Glaxo's preparation to tackle the Zika will start human testing in 2018. The current aim of the global coalition of the pharmaceutical companies and the countries is to develop promising vaccines. The vaccines will help to fight against any unknown or new viruses.