Working together against deadly Marburg virus

The Marburg virus is one of the most dangerous pathogens for humans. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), the mortality rate ranges between 24% and 88%, depending on the strain of the virus and the quality of the medical care. Like Ebola virus, it is an RNA virus of the filovirus family.

The first cases of the Marburg virus disease were documented in 1967. Since then, there have been several outbreaks in eastern, central and southern Africa. In 2021 for the first time the virus emerged in West Africa and this year in Tanzania and Equatorial Guinea. Marburg virus disease is a zoonosis as the initial transmission usually comes from animals: the natural hosts of this virus are presumably fruit bats. Marburg virus is transmitted between humans through body fluids, possibly also through semen.

So far only supportive treatment

To date, there are no effective antiviral drugs or vaccines, and Marburg virus disease can only be treated supportively. Therefore, any epidemic causes unacceptable suffering in the affected countries and has the potential to further spread the virus. Thus, development of treatments or vaccines are needed.

Innovative vaccine development and preclinical test pipeline

Two vaccines against Marburg viruses are currently in Phase I clinical trials. However, they only target a single antigen of the virus. This could impair their protective effect. Thus, exploring new strategies, the MARVAX consortium will develop novel vaccine candidates based on two different viral vectors that will express multiple Marburg virus antigens. Both combined approaches are expected to maximise the immunogenicity and protective effect of the vaccine candidates.

Above all, the MARVAX consortium is joining forces with experts in vaccine development and production, virology, and immunology to go significantly beyond previous research approaches. The novel vaccine candidates against Marburg viruses will be generated by the CSIC National Centre for Biotechnology (CNB-CSIC) and the Institut Pasteur, and their immunogenicity and efficacy will be evaluated in animal models by BNITM, CNB-CSIC and Institut Pasteur in close collaboration. CZ vaccines will develop the manufacturing process and generate clinical batches of the best-in-class vaccines that will be ready for future phase I clinical trials.

The MARVAX study platform will receive a Horizon Europe grant of 7.4 million euros from the European Framework Programme for Research and Innovation over the next four years. The MARVAX consortium includes the Institut Pasteur (France), the Spanish National Research Council (Spain), the BNITM (Germany) and CZ Vaccines (Spain). The platform studies included in the MARVAX consortium will be carried out in close co-operation with the WHO. This should also ensure that a rapid response is possible in the event of renewed Marburg virus outbreaks.

The MARVAX-Consortium

Bernhard Nocht Institute for Tropical Medicine (BNITM, Germany)

Institut Pasteur (France)

Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas (CSIC, Spanien)

National Centre for Biotechnology of the Spanish National Research Council (CNB-CSIC, Spain) (CNB-CSIC, Spain)

CZ Vaccines (Zendal group, Spain)

Zendal Group (Zendal group Biotechnology, Spain)

About the Bernhard Nocht Institute for Tropical Medicine (BNITM)

The Bernhard Nocht Institute for Tropical Medicine (BNITM) is Germany's largest institution for research, care and teaching in the field of tropical and emerging infectious diseases. BNITM research has always focussed on global health / One Health and on translation - the transfer of basic research into application. This research approach is also reflected in the five sections of the institute: Pathogen (pathogen) -> Interface (immunology, host/pathogen) -> Patient (clinic) -> Population (epidemiology) -> Implementation (successful establishment of knowledge).

Current thematic priorities are malaria, haemorrhagic fever viruses, neglected tropical diseases (NTDs), immunology, epidemiology and the clinic of tropical infections as well as the mechanisms of virus transmission by mosquitoes. For the handling of highly pathogenic viruses and infected insects, the institute has laboratories of the highest biological safety level (BSL4) and a safety insectarium (BSL3). The BNITM's mobile laboratories are available for global outbreak control of highly pathogenic or highly infectious viruses.

The BNITM is the National Reference Centre for the detection of all tropical infectious agents and WHO Collaborating Centre for Arboviruses and Haemorrhagic Fever Viruses and is a member of the Leibniz Association.

Together with the Ghanaian Ministry of Health and the University of Kumasi, the BNITM operates a modern research and training centre in the West African rainforest, which is also available to external working groups. The institute also maintains numerous other collaborations in other African countries such as Gabon, Nigeria, Tanzania and Madagascar.