Bavarian Nordic expands vaccine contract by $234m

Furthermore, The vaccine maker signed a new multi-year contract about Bavarian Nordic’s monkeypox vaccine with Canada’s Department of National Defence (DND) at a value of $2m plus $18m in contract options. Through these agreements, the majority of the firm order supply will be delivered in 2023 with the option to procure additional doses annually until 2032 for a total additional value of up to $198m.

The company’s Modified Vaccinia Ankara-Bavarian Nordic (MVA-BN) is a non-replicating smallpox vaccine developed in collaboration with the US government to ensure supply of a smallpox vaccine for the entire population, including immunocompromised individuals who are not recommended vaccination with traditional replicating smallpox vaccines. In addition to smallpox, the Food and Drug Administration, Health Canada and the European Commission have also approved the vaccine for use against monkeypox as the only vaccine having obtained this to-date. 

Bavarian Nordic has ongoing supply contracts with USA and Canada and has delivered the vaccine to a number of undisclosed countries globally as part of their national biological preparedness. In recent years, smaller quantities of the vaccine have been supplied in response to sporadic cases of monkeypox. During the ongoing 2022 outbreak of monkeypox, Bavarian Nordic has worked with several governments to fulfil the immediate demand for the vaccine through a number of supply agreements and is working to secure manufacturing of vaccines to fulfil the demand in the medium- to long term.