As monkeypox continues to spread in many places worldwide, Bavarian Nordic is ratching up its vaccine supply commitments.
A few weeks after the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) increased its order of the company's smallpox and monkeypox vaccine Jynneos by 2.5 million doses, the department has now ordered another 2.5 million doses. The latest deal brings the total number of doses ordered by the government since 2020 to nearly 7 million doses. Since late May, more than 300,000 doses have become available for U.S. residents, the HHS said.
The order will be filled at a U.S.-based contract manufacturer, with a tech transfer beginning immediately. The aim is to manufacture all doses for the contract in 2022, a company statement says.
Bavarian Nordic aims to deliver 1 million doses this year, so the company is again raising its revenue expectations for the year. The company now forecasts revenues between 2.3 billion and 2.5 billion Danish krone ($310 million to $340 millIon). This comes after another financial outlook lift in June, after the company inked a deal with the European Health Emergency Preparedness and Response Authority.
US officials said 131,000 doses of the vaccine have just arrived, and that the HHS is busy making the vaccines available. Meanwhile, the government is working to increase availability of monkeypox tests nationwide by partnering with five commercial testing companies.
The Biden administration last month announced its national monkeypox vaccine strategy, pledging to expand vaccination for individuals at risk and make testing more convenient. At the time, the CDC scaled testing capacity to 78 sites in 48 states, with spare capacity for nearly 10,000 tests per week. The plan includes the distribution of Jynneos, with states receiving an “equitable allotment” based on cases and proportion of the population at risk for severe disease.
States also have the option to request a second vaccine, Emergent’s smallpox vaccine ACAM2000. However, that jab can’t be given to those with heart disease or those who are immunocompromised because of side effect risks.