Moderna and CEPI said they are advancing an investigational mRNA vaccine targeting Bundibugyo virus, the rare Ebola virus species linked to the ongoing outbreak in the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Uganda. The companies said CEPI funding could move the program into early human testing within months, with Moderna planning a phase 1 safety trial subject to regulatory review. The effort targets a gap exposed by the outbreak: approved Ebola vaccines do not cover every Bundibugyo-driving virus species. CEPI also committed up to $60 million to develop three Bundibugyo candidates, spanning Moderna’s mRNA approach, an IAVI recombinant vesicular stomatitis virus vector, and a University of Oxford/Serum Institute of India adenoviral platform. The timeline emphasis—mobilization within about two weeks of the outbreak announcement—signals the push to translate platform readiness into species-specific coverage as epidemics evolve.