Despite an ongoing Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of Congo, GlaxoSmithKline is giving up efforts to develop three vaccines to combat the virus. It will transfer rights to its work to the Sabin Vaccine Institute in the U.S.
Under the transfer agreement, Sabin has exclusively licensed the technology and acquired patent rights of the potential vaccines.
GSK completed the handover for free, and the National Institutes of Health vaccine research group is stepping in to help with development efforts.
While Ebola is a deadly and highly contagious disease, it is also relatively rare, which makes the potential vaccine market sporadic and likely unprofitable, according to Reuters.