Reed Smith has taken a lead role on a licence and supply agreement for an Ebola vaccine developed by Danish company Bavarian Nordic.

London-based life sciences partner John Wilkinson advised Bavarian Nordic on the deal, alongside partners Michael Pitzner-Bruun and Marianne Philip at Copenhagen-headquartered firm Kromann Reumert.

Under the terms of the agreement, Janssen Pharmaceuticals, a subsidiary of Johnson & Johnson, has been given an exclusive licence to distribute Bavarian's MVA-BN Filovirus.

The vaccine has demonstrated complete protection against Ebola in preclinical studies.

Bavarian, which aims to manufacture emergency doses of the vaccine for the current Ebola outbreak in West Africa, and a further one million doses for 2015 clinical trials, is to receive more than $187m (£117m) as part of the agreement, including upfront payments and equity investment.

Janssen is working with global health authorities to distribute the vaccines in an effort to help contain the current outbreak, which added extra pressure to finish the deal.

Wilkinson said he worked around the clock with Kromann Reumert to complete the agreement and get the transaction documents signed within a short timeframe and tight deadline.

Johnson & Johnson was represented by in house counsel and Danish firm Plesner on local law issues.

Separately, Reed Smith this week launched a so-called 'Ebola Global Task Force', comprising more than 20 of its lawyers, aimed at collaborating on various insurance, employment and commercial issues facing its clients.

"[The legal issues facing clients] tend to be complex because several different disciplines come into play," said Princeton-based aviation and litigation partner Patrick Bradley, who heads the group.

"For instance you could have workplace issues and insurance issues at the same time, or in shipping you could have port issues, contract issues and business interruption issues. In most instances solving the challenges requires an inter-disciplinary approach."

Aside from the firm's role advising Bavarian Nordic, the firm is also working with a number of healthcare companies on legal issues around personal travel restrictions, and a financial institution client concerned about potential liabilities in the event its employees come into contact with exposed victims.

According to the World Health Organisation, the current epidemic has so far claimed almost 5,000 lives, with some 10,000 individuals affected.