Merck has gained exclusive licensing rights to an experimental Ebola vaccine that is still undergoing clinical trials under a deal with NewLink Genetics.

NewLink will receive an upfront payment of $30 million from Merck and an additional $20 million after clinical trials are completed on rVSV-EBOV, according to a SEC filing from NewLink.

The vaccine currently is in Phase I clinical trials. If it shows positive outcomes, the U.S. National Institutes of Health will conduct a larger Phase III trial early next year to evaluate the safety and efficacy of rVSV-EBOV and another vaccine being developed by GlaxoSmithKline and the U.S. National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases.

Under the deal, Merck also has exclusive rights to any follow-on products.

NewLink acquired licensing rights to the vaccine in 2010 from the Public Health Agency of Canada, which originally developed it. The agency will retain all non-commercial rights to the vaccine.

rVSV-EBOV is based on a small strain of vesicular stomatitus virus that has been modified to express an Ebola virus protein that plays a big role in establishing infection, Merck said.

Interest in developing Ebola treatments and vaccines has increased since the West Africa outbreak last spring. In addition to the GSK and Merck vaccines, two other treatments are scheduled to undergo clinical trials. — Robert King

Originally appeared in Drug Industry Daily, the pharmaceutical industry’s number one source for regulatory news and information. Click here for more information.