Bavarian Nordic gets 440,000 dose contract to supply smallpox and mpox vaccines

(Adds total value of secured contracts in paragraph 8, revenue forecast in paragraph 9)
Aug 21 (Reuters) – Danish biotech firm Bavarian Nordic said on Wednesday that it has received a contract to supply 440,000 doses of its smallpox and mpox vaccines to an undisclosed European country.
The company said the latest order was anticipated as part of its outlook for the year, and has no impact on the remaining capacity for its smallpox and mpox vaccine.
Last week, the World Health Organization (WHO) declared that an outbreak of mpox, a viral infection that spreads through close contact, represents a global health emergency for the second time in two years.
“Bavarian Nordic can still supply up to 10 million doses of our smallpox and mpox vaccine by the end of next year, with 2 million doses of this capacity available during the remaining part of this year,” said CEO Paul Chaplin.
The company could ramp up production of its mpox vaccine even before having orders lined up, based on the outcome of talks this week with the WHO, Chaplin told Reuters on Tuesday.
Bavarian Nordic is one of the few firms that makes vaccine for mpox, a viral infection that causes flu-like symptoms and pus-filled lesions, and while usually mild, it can kill.
The company urgently needs to make the call on whether to manufacture “at risk” – or without signed contracts – because diverting or switching manufacturing capacity from its other vaccines to mpox will take time, Chaplin said on Tuesday.
All vaccines under the latest contract will be delivered in 2024, the company said, bringing the total value of secured contracts in the public preparedness business close to DKK 3,000 million ($448.50 million), representing the upper end of the revenue forecast for the business in 2024.
It sees annual revenue to be about DKK 5,300 million ($792.35 million). ($1 = 6.6890 Danish crowns) (Reporting by Sriparna Roy in Bengaluru; Editing by Shailesh Kuber)