The world is experiencing an unprecedented global pandemic of
coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by a novel coronavirus, Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome-coronavirus-2 (SARS-CoV-2). Development of new
vaccines and
therapeutics are important to achieve long-term prevention and control of the virus. Experience gained in the development of
vaccines for
Ebola virus disease provide important lessons in the regulatory, clinical, and manufacturing process that can be applied to SARS-CoV-2 and other epidemic pathogens. This report outlines the main lessons learned by Merck Sharp & Dohme Corp., a subsidiary of Merck & Co., Inc., Kenilworth, NJ, USA (MSD) during development of an Ebola Zaire
vaccine (ERVEBO®) and looks ahead to critical lessons beyond
vaccine development. It highlights focus areas for public-private partnership and regulatory harmonization that can be directly applied to current
vaccine development efforts for SARS-CoV-2, while drawing attention to the need for parallel consideration of issues beyond development that are equally important to achieve global preparedness and response goals.