Speed trials

The 2014 West Africa Ebola outbreak is stimulating the fastest vaccine development efforts ever attempted, demonstrating the power of an emerging model that combines the expertise, capabilities and resources of experienced pharma companies, government biomedical research agencies, philanthropies and non-governmental organizations.

Difficult challenges must be overcome before one or more vaccines are ready for widespread use, so it is too early to declare victory. But it is already clear that the model will have to be expanded or modified if it is to become a template for addressing the many known infectious disease threats, or creating the capacity to rapidly respond to new ones. ...