UNICEF has reached an agreement with mpox vaccine manufacturer Bavarian Nordic to supply one million doses of the shot for the hardest-hit countries in Africa.
The supply, which includes a 500,000-dose commitment by the Global Alliance for Vaccines and Immunization (GAVI) announced last week, means 2.5 million doses of the MVA-BN vaccine have been outlaid to Africa, according to Bavarian Nordic’s CEO Paul Chaplin.
The company said it would work with UNICEF to “swiftly deliver the vaccines upon request”, in a 26 September statement.
Other sources of vaccine supply have come from donations by various governments and institutions, as well as a 40,000-dose donation by Bavarian Nordic itself.
The European Health Emergency Preparedness and Response Authority (Hera), for example, ordered 175,420 doses for Africa’s Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
Bavarian Nordic’s MVA-BN vaccine is marketed as Imvanex in Europe and Jynneos in other countries including the US and Singapore. Currently, the vaccine is the only one approved by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA).
Bavarian Nordic said earlier this month it would prioritise the production of MVA-BN over other product orders. The Swiss biotech said it would target the production of two million mpox vaccines by the end of this year, which includes the doses promised to UNICEF.
Bavarian Nordic added that it is targeting the manufacturing of 13 million doses by the end of next year.
Africa Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) previously stated that more than ten million doses could be required through 2025 to fight the outbreak in the continent, which is being propelled by the more dangerous variant clade Ib.
There have been 24,000 confirmed or suspected mpox cases in Africa this year, including over 600 deaths, as per a European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control epidemiological update.
MVA-BN was only approved for adults until the European Medicines Agency (EMA) became the first regulator to approve its use in adolescents earlier this month.
A Bavarian Nordic spokesperson confirmed to Pharmaceutical Technology at the time that the company has “plans to expand this approval process to other high-risk countries”. Bavarian Nordic is targeting even further coverage of its vaccine via a Phase II clinical trial (NCT06549530) to assess the immunogenicity and safety of MVA-BN in children aged between two to 12 years.
