The Public Health Agency of Canada (PHAC) has reportedly planned to buy the IMVAMUNE® smallpox vaccine from Bavarian Nordic A/S at a value of USD 56 million.
Canada is the only country other than the United States to approve this non-replicating smallpox vaccine for usage against monkeypox.
Under the five-year contract signed between the two parties, the vaccines are expected to be delivered starting next year. Hence the supply contract would not affect Bavarian Nordic’s 2022 financial guidelines.
Simultaneously, the Denmark-based company continues to sign agreements with other countries, even nations outside Europe, to supply the vaccine, curb the ongoing monkeypox outbreak, and explore long-term alliance opportunities to create future stockpiles.
For those unaware, Modified Vaccinia Ankara-Bavarian Nordic (MVA-BN) is marketed as IMVAMUNE® in Canada, JYNNEOS® in the United States, and IMVANEX® in Europe.
This vaccine is developed with the assistance of the U.S. government to ensure a sufficient supply of the vaccine for the entire population.
The vaccine received approval from the European Commission in 2013 as an immunity dose against smallpox in people aged over 18 years. It eventually received approvals in the United States and Canada.
Bavarian Nordic has ongoing supply agreements with Canada and the United States. It has delivered vaccines to several undisclosed countries globally under its national biological readiness. The vaccine has been delivered as a response to non-endemic monkeypox cases worldwide.
Meanwhile, the United Kingdom has reported the largest number of monkeypox cases after Africa. Since the outbreak began a month ago, the UK registered over 300 confirmed cases. Therefore, the UK Health Security Agency has declared the virus a notifiable infectious disease.
With this designation, doctors in the UK are mandated to alert local authorities when they suspect a patient to be infected with the virus.
So far, more than 700 monkeypox cases have been identified, with several suspected cases in over 20 nations worldwide.
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