Wellcome Trust
UK-based biomedical research charity co-funding Hilleman Laboratories.
The Wellcome Trust's joint venture Hilleman Laboratories advanced a Bundibugyo-specific Ebola vaccine candidate into clinical-trial production on 31 July 2026, a single funded project inside a research portfolio spanning global health, genomics and mental health.
Last refreshed: 31 July 2026 · Appears in 1 active topic
Why is the Wellcome Trust funding an unlicensed Ebola species vaccine?
Timeline for Wellcome Trust
CEPI puts a Bundibugyo vaccine in trials
Pandemics and BiosecurityBackground
The Wellcome Trust is a UK-based biomedical research charity and one of the largest private funders of health research in the world, backing work across infectious disease, genomics, mental health, and climate and health.
Its funding model channels grants and co-investments into research institutions and partnerships rather than running laboratories directly, giving it reach across projects too early-stage or too niche for government or commercial funders alone.
Hilleman Laboratories, the Trust's Singapore-based joint venture with Merck & Co., is one such co-funded partnership: on 31 July 2026 it took a vaccine candidate specific to the Bundibugyo strain of Ebola into clinical-trial production, backed separately by up to $8.5m from the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations .
What is the Wellcome Trust?
What is the Wellcome Trust funding in the Ebola response?
Why does eastern DR Congo's Ebola outbreak need a new vaccine?
