University researcher receives over $6 million to develop trivalent Ebola vaccine

Axel Lehrer has developed a vaccine that is said to be heat stable, meaning it does not require refrigeration and could therefore be transported and stored in the hottest climates on earth.

Lehrer said: "The current grant is focused on finishing preclinical development that means we are working on the production of the antigens, we are working on the formulation to develop this heat stable trivalent vaccine and the a proper efficacy testing to establish proof of concept."

Funding agencies for the current grant include the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) and the National Institutes of Health. Lehrer also collaborated with partners from the University of Texas, Bioqual, Soligenix, and Hawaii Biotech.

According to Lehrer, the next step would be to obtain additional funding to move the vaccine into a clinical trial. With funding, and the necessary drug regulatory approvals, he believes the vaccine could be marketable within five to ten years.