The strain behind the active 2026 PHEIC. The pipeline is thinner than for Zaire or Sudan, partly because Bundibugyo has caused only three recognised outbreaks before 2026.
cAd3-BDBV (BDBV-specific candidate)
Pre-clinicalvaccine
NIAID Vaccine Research Center · Targets BDBV
Mechanism. Chimpanzee adenovirus type 3 vector encoding the Bundibugyo virus glycoprotein. The platform mirrors cAd3-EBO Z (Zaire) and cAd3-EBO S (Sudan).
Status. Reported in pre-clinical animal studies. No human trials of a BDBV-specific cAd3 candidate are listed on ClinicalTrials.gov as of May 2026. Filovirus glycoprotein cross-reactivity may permit Phase 1 acceleration if WHO declares emergency-use scientific priority.
ChAdOx1 BDBV (Oxford monovalent candidate)
Phase 1vaccine
Oxford Vaccine Group + Serum Institute of India · Targets BDBV
Mechanism. Chimpanzee adenovirus (ChAdOx1) vector expressing the Bundibugyo virus glycoprotein. Same platform as the Oxford-AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine; designed as a monovalent BDBV-specific candidate.
Status. On 13 July 2026 the Oxford Vaccine Group launched BD-Ebov, the world's first Phase 1 trial of a vaccine candidate against Bundibugyo virus, assessing the safety and immune response of ChAdOx1 BDBV in 50 healthy adults aged 18-55 in Oxford. On 24 July 2026 the trial vaccinated its first volunteer, the first time ChAdOx1 BDBV has been administered to a human, with further volunteers being enrolled and dosed over the following weeks. The chief investigator is Professor Katrina Pollock and the lead scientific investigator is Professor Teresa Lambe, both of the Oxford Vaccine Group and Pandemic Sciences Institute. The Serum Institute of India manufactured and stockpiled approximately 620,000 doses of the candidate within two weeks for potential later-stage trials and emergency use, and supplied 4,000 investigational doses for the Phase 1 study. The vaccine was developed at Oxford's Vaccine Group and Pandemic Sciences Institute on the same viral-vector platform as the Oxford-AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine. Background: announced 22 May 2026 in response to the DRC and Uganda PHEIC, with no animal or human studies completed at that point and trial doses then estimated 2-3 months out. A WHO expert consultation on 28 May 2026 endorsed the candidate for trial evaluation pending further animal data, advising a single-dose approach for contacts of cases and a two-dose approach for high-risk unexposed groups such as health workers. On 1 June 2026 CEPI committed up to US$8.6 million towards preclinical testing and preparation for Phase 1. Investigational: this trial measures safety and immune response, not efficacy, and no vaccine is approved against Bundibugyo virus.
mRNA-BDBV (Moderna candidate)
Pre-clinicalvaccine
Moderna · Targets BDBV
Mechanism. Lipid-nanoparticle-encapsulated messenger RNA encoding the Bundibugyo virus glycoprotein. Same mRNA platform validated during COVID-19, applied to a novel filovirus target.
Status. On 1 June 2026 CEPI committed up to US$50 million to accelerate this candidate through preclinical testing and Phase 1 clinical trials in response to the Bundibugyo PHEIC. No animal or human data specific to Bundibugyo virus has been published at the time of announcement. Investigational and not approved for any indication.
rVSV-BDBV (rVSV-based BDBV candidate)
Pre-clinicalvaccine
IAVI (rVSV platform) · Targets BDBV
Mechanism. Recombinant vesicular stomatitis virus vector engineered to express the Bundibugyo glycoprotein. Same rVSV platform underlying Merck Ervebo (which targets Zaire only) and the WHO-prequalified Zaire vaccine.
Status. WHO has identified the single-dose IAVI rVSV-BDBV candidate as the most promising vaccine in development, though it is estimated to be seven to nine months from human efficacy trials. On 1 June 2026 CEPI committed up to US$3.2 million towards its development. No doses are currently available for clinical trials.
Obeldesivir (post-exposure prophylaxis trial)
Phase 2therapeutic
Gilead Sciences · Targets BDBV, EBOV, SUDV
Mechanism. Oral nucleotide analogue prodrug related to remdesivir, with broad pan-filovirus activity in pre-clinical models.
Status. In active field evaluation as of 14 July 2026, when recruitment opened in Ituri for EBO-PEP, the first trial of any post-exposure prophylaxis against Bundibugyo virus. The trial aims to enrol nearly 1,000 participants aged over 12 who had direct contact with a confirmed case within the previous five days, whether with a symptomatic patient, a corpse, or a needlestick from a contaminated syringe, and who are symptom-free at enrolment; participants are monitored daily for 21 days with a final visit at day 42. The first PEP centres are adjacent to the ALIMA-run Ebola treatment centres in Bunia and Rwampara. EBO-PEP is coordinated by ALIMA with DRC's INRB and France's ANRS Emerging Infectious Diseases, with Medecins Sans Frontieres ground support and Africa CDC study coordination; principal investigators are Professor Pauline Byakika-Kibwika (Mbarara University of Science and Technology), Dr Marie Jaspard (Saint-Antoine Hospital / Inserm) and Professor Placide Mbala (INRB). Funding is EUR 3.4 million from the Global Health EDCTP3 partnership, US$1 million from Africa CDC and US$5 million combined from DRC and South Africa. Gilead Sciences developed obeldesivir but does not run the trial, contrary to several newsroom framings. A secondary protocol offers compassionate-use remdesivir to children under 12 and to pregnant or breastfeeding women, who are excluded from the obeldesivir arm. EBO-PEP is designed as a platform intended to extend across sub-Saharan Africa, with a Uganda arm announced but no first enrolment confirmed there. Background: WHO announced at its Virtual Ministerial Briefing of 25 May 2026 that it would evaluate obeldesivir as post-exposure prophylaxis jointly with Africa CDC, and a WHO expert consultation on 28 May reaffirmed it as a priority candidate while noting that contact-tracing difficulties complicate implementation. No Bundibugyo-specific human efficacy data exists; an oral route simplifies field deployment relative to existing monoclonal antibody products. Investigational and not approved for any indication.
mAb114 + REGN-EB3 (cross-reactivity studies)
Pre-clinicaltherapeutic
NIAID + Regeneron + Ridgeback · Targets EBOV, BDBV
Mechanism. Monoclonal antibody products approved as Ebanga (mAb114, ansuvimab) and Inmazeb (REGN-EB3) for Zaire ebolavirus. Pre-clinical cross-reactivity work has examined activity against BDBV glycoprotein with mixed results.
Status. Neither product is approved for Bundibugyo. Cross-strain neutralisation has been observed in some in-vitro and animal studies; the regulatory and clinical path to expanded indication remains slow. Emergency-use protocols during a PHEIC could permit off-label evaluation under research authorisation.
MBP134 (pan-ebolavirus monoclonal antibody)
Phase 2therapeutic
Mapp Biopharmaceutical and Adimab, with USAMRIID and academic partners · Targets EBOV, SUDV, BDBV
Mechanism. Two-antibody cocktail engineered for broad pan-ebolavirus neutralisation. Unlike Inmazeb and Ebanga, which target Zaire ebolavirus only, MBP134 has shown protection against Zaire, Sudan, and Bundibugyo viruses in non-human primate challenge studies.
Status. Now being evaluated in the PARTNERS trial (Platform Adaptive Randomised Trial for New and Repurposed Filovirus TreatmentS), the first clinical trial of treatments for Bundibugyo virus disease, which enrolled its first patient in Bunia on 2 July 2026. WHO-sponsored and coordinated by the Congolese INRB, the Institute of Tropical Medicine in Antwerp, and the University of Oxford, the trial randomises patients of any age with confirmed disease to standard care alone, standard care plus MBP134, standard care plus remdesivir, or both drugs plus standard care, with mortality at 28 days as the primary endpoint and a target of 700 to 1,000 participants over six months. A first-in-human Phase 1 trial had previously been conducted; no Bundibugyo-specific efficacy data exist in humans yet. Investigational and not approved for any indication.
