Meriden Protein Sciences Lab Developing Ebola Vaccine

With concerns about Ebola on the rise, a Connecticut laboratory is working on developing a vaccine for the deadly virus.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention supplied Protein Sciences in Meriden with a genetic code sequence to create the vaccine.

The National Institutes of Health is expected to run advanced trials on the lab's vaccine by the end of the year, according to a news release from Rep. Rosa DeLauro, visited the lab Monday afternoon for a tour.

"Biomedical research companies like Protein Sciences are helping continue Connecticut's tradition of being a key center for innovation and high-tech manufacturing into the 21st century," DeLauro said in a statement Monday. "Ebola is a scary virus, but it can be contained in nations that have a strong public health infrastructure. ... We have to be prepared and invest in the public health infrastructure that keeps America safe."

It comes after a patient at a Dallas hospital is in critical condition with Ebola and Dr. Rick Sacra, of Massachusetts, returned to the United States from Africa after contracting the virus. Sacra was treated and is now testing negative for the virus.

NBC News freelancer Ashoka Mukpo was diagnosed with Ebola while covering it in Liberia has also been flown back to the U.S. for treatment, NBC News reports.

DeLauro is calling for legislators to vote before the November election on more funding for the National Institutes of Health, Centers for Disease Control, according to a news release.

Protein Sciences is expected to have something prepared for the National Institutes of Health by the end of the year, according to DeLauro's office.

More than 3,000 people have died worldwide from Ebola, but health experts say the likelihood of an outbreak on American soil is very low.

Contact Us