Biomedical research organization IAVI has been awarded $36 million under a United States government contract worth up to $99 million to advance development of its single-dose vaccine candidate against the Bundibugyo strain of the Ebola virus, the organization said on Wednesday, October 28, 2026.
The funding arrives at a critical moment. The number of confirmed Ebola cases in the Democratic Republic of Congo has risen above 10,000, according to government data reported on Tuesday, making the Bundibugyo outbreak the country’s largest and deadliest.
The award comes from the US Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority (BARDA) and will support the manufacturing of vaccine doses for clinical testing and outbreak response, including an early-stage trial. It will also support development of an updated candidate targeting the variant behind the 2026 Bundibugyo outbreak.
Key Takeaways
- IAVI received $36 million under a US government contract worth up to $99 million to advance its single-dose Ebola vaccine candidate.
- The funding supports manufacturing doses for clinical testing and outbreak response, including an early-stage trial.
- Confirmed Ebola cases in DR Congo have passed 10,000, making this the country’s largest and deadliest Bundibugyo outbreak.
Why a Single Dose Matters
IAVI’s candidate is a one-dose vaccine based on the rVSV platform, and the organization says it has demonstrated protective efficacy in animal studies. In an outbreak setting, a single-dose vaccine carries a practical advantage: people can be vaccinated quickly, without the logistical burden of tracking each person down for a second appointment.
That matters in the middle of a fast-moving outbreak, where health teams are working across difficult terrain and communities that may be hard to reach more than once. A vaccine that works with one visit can be rolled out faster and with fewer resources than a multidose regimen.
There are currently no approved vaccines or specific treatments for disease caused by the Bundibugyo virus, which makes the development work especially urgent for health authorities responding to the outbreak in DR Congo.
There are currently no approved vaccines or specific treatments for disease caused by the Bundibugyo virus.
Partners Behind the Vaccine Work
IAVI will partner with Hilleman Laboratories, SK bioscience, and IDT Biologika for development, manufacturing, and vaccine production. The collaboration spans research, production capacity, and the practical work of turning a candidate into doses that can be tested and, eventually, deployed.
The funding also covers an updated candidate designed to target the specific variant driving the 2026 Bundibugyo outbreak, a step that reflects how virus variants can shape vaccine development even within a single outbreak.
Elsewhere in the region, Kenya has released its first Ebola contacts from quarantine, a sign of how neighbouring countries are managing the regional risk while the DR Congo outbreak continues.
- $36 million awarded now, under a US government contract worth up to $99 million
- Single-dose rVSV-based vaccine candidate, with protective efficacy shown in animal studies
- Funding covers manufacturing for clinical testing and outbreak response, including an early-stage trial
- Partners include Hilleman Laboratories, SK bioscience, and IDT Biologika
- No approved vaccines or specific treatments currently exist for Bundibugyo virus disease
A Wider Health Threat Landscape
The Ebola funding also lands at a time when health agencies are warning about other growing threats. Drug-resistant germs are causing millions of infections, according to new CDC figures, underscoring how stretched public health systems are on several fronts at once.
Drugmaker Regeneron said on Monday that it had extended its agreement with the US health authority to provide additional supply of its Ebola treatment, adding another layer to the response effort alongside the vaccine work.
What to Watch Next
The next steps to watch are the early-stage trial supported by the new funding, the manufacturing of doses for clinical testing and outbreak response, and the development of the updated candidate targeting the variant behind the 2026 Bundibugyo outbreak. Whether confirmed case numbers in DR Congo continue to rise, and how quickly vaccine doses can reach the field, will shape the course of the response in the weeks ahead.