Moderna and CEPI moved an investigational mRNA vaccine program forward for Bundibugyo virus, a rarer Ebola species driving the ongoing outbreak in the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Uganda. The companies said CEPI support—up to $60 million across multiple candidates—could bring Moderna’s vaccine into a Phase 1 trial within months, subject to regulatory review and approvals. CEPI described the work as filling a gap exposed by the outbreak: vaccines exist for some Ebola species but not all virus types that can cause human disease. Moderna said the program was designed to proceed with urgency after CEPI mobilized resources just over two weeks after the DRC announced the outbreak in mid-May. CEPI’s portfolio also includes candidates from IAVI (using a recombinant vesicular stomatitis virus vector) and a University of Oxford program manufactured by the Serum Institute of India, reflecting three different platforms aimed at building redundancy against species coverage gaps.