Experimental vaccine for Ebola to begin first human safety trial

A vaccine developed by researchers at the US National Institutes of Health has been fast-tracked by regulators and is expected to begin its first human safety trial by September.

The vaccine is based on a chimpanzee adenovirus, a relative of cold viruses. Scientists are racing to begin the first human safety tests of two experimental Ebola vaccines, but it won't be easy to prove that the shots and other potential treatments in the pipeline really work.

British drugmaker GlaxoSmithKline is currently ushering the potential injection through the development process, after acquiring its original developer, vaccine specialist Okairos AG for, 325 million US dollars last year.

Studies show the vaccine could protect monkeys from the virus. There are no proven drugs or vaccines for Ebola, a disease so rare that it's been hard to attract investments in countermeasures.