GlaxoSmithKline's Ebola Vaccine Passes First Human Trial

The first human trials of a vaccine against Ebola have been successful, but it will be months, at best, before it can be used to stem the outbreak in West Africa.

The origins of the vaccine go back more than a decade. A chimpanzee cold virus was modified to carry Ebola genetic material conferring protection against the Zaire strain of Ebola. This was shown to be effective in monkeys, although the benefits wore off with time.

Progress was delayed not by technical obstacles but economics. Previous outbreaks were controlled by tracing and quarantining the sick. With the people most endangered also being the least able to pay, funding was limited. Via Business Insider.

Gunmen Shoot Dead A Journalist In Puntland Somalia

(Reuters) - Gunmen shoot dead a journalist in the semi-autonomous region of Puntland, the third killed in Somalia this year, a colleague and the National Union of Somali Journalists (NUSOJ) said.

Radio journalist Abdirisak Ali Abdi, nicknamed Silver, was killed in the Puntland town of Galkacyo late on Tuesday, said Faduma Yusuf, who worked with him at Radio Daljir. "Gunmen hit him with several bullets," she told Reuters.

Abdi, who was 25 and married with two sons, also worked for a London-based television station, NUSOJ said. Read More...

GlaxoSmithKline Takes A Step Closer To Ebola Vaccine

GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) $GSK, the Britain-based pharmaceuticals company is inching closer to finding a vaccine for the deadly virus Ebola. The company's test Ebola vaccine, which has already been tested in nearly 200 people has shown no side effects on healthy human beings so far, which is a positive sign at the early stages of the study.

Photo via CNBC Africa courtesy of Doctor's channel

According to reports on Monday, the safety data so far are very satisfactory, which means there is no threat with regard to the safety of the vaccinated subjects.


Since the trials began about two months ago, the program has used approximately 200 healthy human volunteers from the U.S, Britain, Mali and Switzerland.

The experimental shot uses a single Ebola virus gene from a chimpanzee virus to generate an immune response. Because it doesn’t contain any infectious virus material, it can’t infect those being vaccinated.

Latest statistics from the World Health Organization (WHO) indicate that the latest Ebola outbreak has now infected more than 13,000 people with virtually all of them being from West Africa, especially in Guinea, Sierra Leone, and Liberia. out of these, 5,000 have been reported to have succumbed to the virus.

Reports also suggest that biotech companies are accelerating the drug trials for Ebola vaccine, while WHO remains hopeful that one or more of the vaccines may be ready for some limited use in West Africa, in early 2015.

Zambian Presidential Candidate Vows To Legalize Marijuana If Elected

Following the death of Zambian President "King Cobra" Michael Sata, the presidential office for the Southern Africa nation remains under interim leadership of former V.P Guy Scott, who is Africa's first white head of state since South Africa's F.W de Clerk lost to Nelson Mandela in 1994, in an election that marked the end of the Apartheid.

Image courtesy of the Independent Observer via The Guardian

However, the office is already attracting a series of candidates as widely expected, with no incumbent to oust. Among the aspirants, is Green Party's Presidential candidate, Peter Sinkamba, who has vowed to legalize Marijuana if elected in the forthcoming elections.

Mr. Sinkamba has promised voters to cut dependence on mining, especially the over-reliance on copper, as he seeks to implement his manifesto of a green economy. Sinkamba an environmentalist is looking to save Zambia's environment with Marijuana.

According to reports, Mr Sinkamba will announce his candidature on Friday, November 14, on a Green Party ticket as he seeks to replace the late president, Michael Sata.

However, reports suggest that Sinkamba's manifesto of legalizing Marijuana might face serious headwinds especially considering the fact that Zambia is a socially conservative nation.

Nonetheless, Sinkamba is adamant that Marijuana would cut Zambia's addiction and over dependence on copper as a main export, which accounted for nearly 70% of the country's overall exports in 2012.

KCB Q3 Pretax Profit Up By 17 Percent

Kenya Commercial Bank (KCB) has posted an improved pretax profit rising by 17 percent for the third quarter of 2014.

The company pointed out growth in Transaction Fees and improved efficiency through the use of alternative business channels, as well as, a significant growth in non-funded income as some of the driving factors behind its profit growth.

Image via Business Daily Africa

The Bank's CEO Joshua Oigara told CNBC Africa “We have also seen good increment on our fees and commission which is also not a surprise because we have invested very strongly on the non-funded income, alternative channels, invested in agency banking… despite the reduction in our net margin this year compared to last year.”

The group fees and commission on loans was up 20 percent to 3.5 billion Kenyan shillings while loans and advances grew by 17 percent to 264.3 billion Kenyan shillings from 225.7 billion shillings reported the same period last year.

KCB is East Africa's largest commercial bank in terms of assets, and despite experiencing some serious headwinds in its operations in Uganda and Southern Sudan over the recent past, the group still managed to grow its overall assets significantly increasing from $385.2 billion Kenyan shillings to 451 billion shillings, representing another 17 percent growth,a figure that was so common in the recent results.

Kenya is the company's largest revenue contributor accounting for 77%, while South Sudan contributes about 12.7%, with Tanzania, Rwanda and Uganda accounting for 3.7%, 3.2% and 3.2% respectively.

West Africa Hits Record Numbers In Cocoa Production

West Africa has hit a record number in cocoa production driven by Ghana, Côte d’Ivoire and Nigeria quickly rising.

Increase in West Africa's cocoa production. PHOTO: Best Wallpaper-via CNBC Africa

This past season, West Africa produced a record of 3.1 million tons of cocoa. However, it is unlikely that the region will produce the same high yield next season.

“We’re expecting a total crop of around 1.6 million tons in Côte d’Ivoire. We’re expecting a slightly larger crop in Ghana of around 950 thousand tons and we’re expecting Nigeria to grow by the strongest of any cocoa producer in the world,” said Edward George, head of group research at Ecobank. Read More...