Johnson & Johnson Begins Clinical Testing For Ebola Vaccine

As scientists and pharmaceutical companies around the world continue the race to develop the first approved Ebola vaccine, Johnson & Johnson announced this week that it is beginning clinical trials for its vaccine.

The company says that it is beginning clinical trials for the vaccine, which has been created in collaboration with Denmark's Bavarian Nordic, in Great Britain.

According to Reuters, Johnson & Johnson's vaccine differs from other Ebola vaccines that have also entered human testing in that it requires two vaccines, instead of one, to be effective.

The clinical trial for the Johnson & Johnson vaccination will begin at Oxford University this week among 72 healthy volunteers. The company has said that it expects the vaccine to be ready for distribution to the public by 2015.

Paul Stoffels, Johnson & Johnson's chief scientific officer, told Reuters that he thinks his company will be able to develop the vaccine in enough time to treat Ebola patients, given the epidemic doesn't come to an end within the next several months.

"As long as there are still Ebola patients, there is the risk that it will continue to go around the region," Stoffels said. "Does it come too late? That's going to be answered when we are there. I don't think so."

Dr Matthew Snape, from the Oxford Vaccine Group, told BBC News that "We aim to immunise all participants within a month."

"The main aim is to understand the safety profile of the vaccines," Snape added.