TIANJIN, CHINA, August 26, 2019, China’s peacekeepers got Ebola vaccine shots earlier in the month before departure for their peace missions in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), where the deadly disease has been continuing for over a year since August 2018 and has caused deaths of more than 1900 people according to the latest update by World Health Organization (WHO).

It is the second time that China vaccinated its peacekeeping forces to DRC with Ebola vaccines manufactured by CanSino Biologics Inc., a quickly emerging biotech firm headquartered in China’s northern city of Tianjin.

The Ad5-EBOV Ebola vaccine, the only one licensed so far of its kind globally, was developed jointly by CanSino Biologics Inc. and the Beijing Institute of Biotechnology. It was approved in October 2017 by China’s Food and Drug Administration for emergency use and stockpile purposes. Clinical studies conducted in China and Ebola affected areas in West Africa respectively proved its safety and efficacy for protection against Ebola virus disease. 

"We feel honored and proud that our Ebola vaccine is used for the peacekeeping purposes”, said Dr. Xuefeng Yu, CanSinoBio’s Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, “We wish them every success of their mission in DRC and coming back safe and sound.”

The Democratic Republic of Congo, a landlocked state in the Central Africa, officially declared the Ebola outbreaks in August 2018. It was the second worst Ebola outbreak documented following the one in West Africa in 2014. As of August 19, 2019, more than 2,900 people have been infected and more than 1,900 have died, causing a serious threat to the lives of people in the DRC and its surrounding countries.

Ebola virus disease (EVD), also known as Ebola hemorrhagic fever, is a potent infectious disease caused by Ebola virus infection. It is transmitted through close contact with the blood, excretions and secretions of infected human beings or animals. The incubation period is 2 to 21 days. Once infected, patients usually  show symptoms such as fever, vomiting, bleeding and multiple organ damage. The mortality rate is around 50% to 90%. No effective treatments are approved yet  for the disease.

About CanSino Biologics Inc.

Incorporated in 2009, CanSinoBIO (6185.HK) commits to research, development, production and commercialization of innovative vaccines for China and global public health. It possesses four integrated platform technologies including adenovirus-based vectors, conjugation, protein design and recombination and formulation. As of today, it has established a robust pipeline of 15 candidate vaccines covering 12 diseases, including a globally innovative Ebola virus disease vaccine approved for emergency use and stockpile in 2017.