Hilleman Laboratories
Singapore-based vaccine developer, a joint venture of Merck and Wellcome Trust.
On 31 July 2026 Hilleman Laboratories put its Bundibugyo ebolavirus vaccine candidate into clinical-trial production, the first shot built specifically for the strain driving eastern DR Congo's outbreak, backed by up to $8.5m from CEPI.
Last refreshed: 31 July 2026 · Appears in 1 active topic
Why has no licensed Ebola vaccine protected against the Bundibugyo species until now?
Timeline for Hilleman Laboratories
Developed the Bundibugyo-specific vaccine candidate
Pandemics and Biosecurity: CEPI puts a Bundibugyo vaccine in trialsBackground
Hilleman Laboratories is a Singapore-based vaccine developer established as a joint venture between Merck & Co. (MSD outside the US and Canada) and the Wellcome Trust. Its mandate is to develop and manufacture vaccines affordable for low- and middle-income countries, drawing on Merck's manufacturing expertise and Wellcome's research funding.
Its Bundibugyo work uses the rVSV backbone, the same viral-vector platform behind licensed vaccines against the Zaire strain of Ebola. Access to that established platform, plus a Bundibugyo-specific reference virus supplied by the International AIDS Vaccine Initiative and MSD's manufacturing expertise, is what let a candidate reach trial production for a species no licensed vaccine covers.
Sitting at the intersection of two much larger organisations, one a commercial pharmaceutical giant, the other a research charity, Hilleman can pursue vaccine candidates for outbreaks too small or too geographically confined to attract standalone commercial investment .
Hilleman starts Bundibugyo vaccine trials
Hilleman Laboratories, the Singapore-based vaccine developer, moved its Bundibugyo ebolavirus candidate into clinical-trial production on 31 July 2026, the first shot engineered specifically against the species behind eastern DR Congo's current outbreak rather than the more familiar Zaire strain . The Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations is backing the work with up to $8.5m.
The candidate is built on the rVSV platform, the viral-vector technology already used in licensed vaccines against the Zaire strain, but swaps in a Bundibugyo-specific reference virus supplied by the International AIDS Vaccine Initiative. Manufacturing draws on the expertise of joint-venture parent Merck & Co.; CEPI notes the candidate carries no efficacy data yet and will not help the outbreak already under way, only the next one.