Ebola Vaccine Approved for Use in Europe

Merck’s Ervebo gets its first regulatory greenlight. A decision from the US Food and Drug Administration is expected in the next few months.

Written byJef Akst

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Ervebo, an Ebola vaccine from Merck, received marketing approval from the European Commission today (November 11), marking the first such vaccine to reach the world’s markets.

“Finding a vaccine as soon as possible against this terrible virus has been a priority for the international community ever since Ebola hit West Africa five years ago,” Vytenis Andriukaitis, the European Commission official in charge of health and food safety, says in a statement. “Today’s decision is therefore a major step forward in saving lives in Africa and beyond.”

Merck first took over the development of the vaccine after the Ebola outbreak in West Africa started in 2014. The immunization was initially designed by researchers at Canada’s National Microbiology Laboratory and then licensed to Iowa-based biotech company NewLink Genetics. Starting in 2015, Merck conducted a highly successful clinical trial in Guinea. More than 250,000 doses of Ervebo have also ...

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Meet the Author

Jef Akst
Jef (an unusual nickname for Jennifer) got her master’s degree from Indiana University in April 2009 studying the mating behavior of seahorses. After four years of diving off the Gulf Coast of Tampa and performing behavioral experiments at the Tennessee Aquarium in Chattanooga, she left research to pursue a career in science writing. As The Scientist's managing editor, Jef edited features and oversaw the production of the TS Digest and quarterly print magazine. In 2022, her feature on uterus transplantation earned first place in the trade category of the Awards for Excellence in Health Care Journalism. She is a member of the National Association of Science Writers.
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