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Bavarian Nordic A/S, one of the few companies with an approved mpox vaccine, says it will be able to meet the immunization needs of African nations in the throes of an mpox outbreak.
Shares in the Danish company surged as much as 17 per cent in early Thursday trading in Copenhagen, extending a 12 per cent rise the day before, after it said it can provide 10 million doses of its vaccine to African countries by the end of 2025.
“We have inventory and we have the capabilities. What we’re missing are the orders,” Bavarian Nordic’s Chief Executive Officer Paul Chaplin said in an interview Wednesday.
The World Health Organization declared the fast-spreading outbreak a global public health emergency on Wednesday. The Africa Centres for Disease Control deemed the potentially deadly virus that’s swept across at least six countries a continent-wide emergency a day earlier. US-traded shares of Bavarian Nordic closed 33 per cent higher in New York on Wednesday.
A mutated strain has infected about 15,000 people and killed more than 500 in the Democratic Republic of the Congo this year alone. Weak public-health systems and poor access to costly vaccines have hampered efforts to control the spread.
Pricing issue
The Danish vaccine developer has about 300,000 doses ready for shipping immediately, Chaplin said. The company and the European Commission have already donated more than 215,000 combined. Bavarian Nordic could provide a total of two million doses to Africa by the end of this year, and another eight million in 2025, the CEO said.
“We are in late August already, so it really does need some speed in the decision making to be able to do that,” he said.
Bavarian Nordic’s vaccine — sold under the names Jynneos, Imvamune and Imvanex — was originally developed to protect against smallpox and is the only one approved for mpox. Priced at about $100 per dose, according to Africa’s CDC, it’s among a handful of shots that can prevent mpox. Two others, from Emergent Biosolutions Inc. and KM Biologics, are available though not widely approved.
Africa CDC’s Director General Jean Kaseya has said the continent needs 10 million doses and that the shots are very expensive.
“Pricing is no doubt going to be an issue,” Chaplin said in the interview. “We’re very sensitive about the pricing. We’re fully aware we have to do our bit here and look at pricing in a responsible way,” he said, declining to provide more details.
Unlike some other immunizations, the mpox shot isn’t in great demand in wealthier countries. That makes it harder for the company to compensate for low-cost sales and donations to poor nations.
Vaccine stockpiles
An earlier global outbreak of mpox in 2022 was declared an international public health emergency, leading to vaccination campaigns in many regions. While some countries still have stockpiles, only the European Commission and Bavarian Nordic have announced plans to donate doses so far.
Africa’s CDC is currently working on a vaccination strategy, which Chaplin said is a key element in the decision-making process for countries considering donating doses. While countries outside Africa have yet to announce procurement efforts, Chaplin said his phone “is beginning to get quite busy all over again.”
“The international community need to react,” he said. “It will only be a matter of time if we do nothing until it spreads further and then suddenly there are cases in Europe and in the US and in other parts of the globe.”