Controversial US-Backed Hepatitis B Vaccine Trial in Guinea-Bissau Cancelled

A controversial $3.2 million hepatitis B vaccine trial planned for newborn babies in Guinea-Bissau with US-based funding has been cancelled following the failure to obtain necessary government approval and major ethical criticism. Lead researcher Frederik Schaltz-Buchholzer announced on Wednesday that the study would not proceed. The project's funding was planned to be provided by the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and private partners.

Guinea-Bissau's Health Minister Quinhin Nantote had previously rejected the validity of the project, stating that claims of progress did not reflect the truth. Earlier in the week, Guinea-Bissau authorities raided the offices of the Bandim Health Project and confiscated the researchers' vaccines. Half of the study's $1.6 million funding was to be provided by the US CDC, while the other $1.6 million was to be funded by the Bill Ackman-backed Pershing Square Foundation and the Bluebell Foundation.

The research team, which included Danish scientists Christine Stabell Benn and Peter Aaby, was studying the hypothesis that the hepatitis B vaccine might undermine the general mortality-reducing benefits of the live BCG vaccine. Paul Offit, a vaccine expert from the Children's Hospital of Philadelphia, had described this hypothesis as biologically unfounded and imaginative. The trial also raised ethical concerns regarding informed consent, as children of parents who refused to participate would have their access to the vaccine restricted.

The World Health Organization (WHO) maintains its recommendation that all infants receive a hepatitis B birth dose within the first 24 hours. While researchers claimed the study was halted because it challenged medical consensus, health experts emphasized that universal vaccination is an urgent necessity for the prevention of lifelong diseases in Guinea-Bissau.