Ebola vaccine from Merck takes step toward US approval

While Merck's Ebola vaccine isn't yet approved in the U.S. or Europe, the drugmaker has been providing extensive supplies of investigational doses at the request of the WHO. According to the company, Merck has shipped more than 245,000 1 milliliter doses of V920 to the international health agency, with another 190,000 available.  V920 is part of the international community's response to the outbreak of Ebola in the northwest corner of the DRC. The number of reported cases per week has come down from a peak several months ago, but remains high. "While the intensity of the outbreak shows signs of easing in some areas and total case numbers are decreasing, it is too soon to tell if this trend will continue," the WHO noted in its Sept. 10 situation report. As the outbreak persists, Merck has begun preparation to increase supply of investigational V920 in consultation with the WHO, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services and Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance. Merck aims to produce 650,000 doses in phases over the next six to 18 months.