The rise of Mpox is the latest health crisis, and the world is desperately trying to get it under control.
What began as the strain with the most cases in the Democratic Republic of Congo has now spread to other parts of Africa. It has also had its first European case in Sweden, whereupon the World Health Organization global emergency last week.
Mpox, formerly known as monkeypox, has been fatal for hundreds of infected people, including children, although the majority of cases so far have been mild.
Only one company has the antidote: Bavarian Nordic.
As the situation worsened last week, the Danish pharmaceutical giant donated 40,000 cans its vaccine against Pmox infections called Imvanex to Africa’s public health authority. Regional groups such as the European Commission said they would 215,000 vaccine dosess from their stocks to African health authorities.
The drug was approved in 2022 when a health emergency was declared for Mpox, and at that time the vaccine helped to largely contain the outbreak.
There is still a need for more Imvanex (also called Jynneos) to protect the people most vulnerable to possible Mpox infection. There is still no vaccine in Congo, where many cases have been registered.
So what do we know about Bavarian Nordic and how is the organization faring in light of the recent global health crisis?
Another Danish pharmaceutical giant
Founded in 1994, Bavarian Nordic is a Copenhagen-based pharmaceutical company specializing in Development of vaccinesincluding smallpox, typhus and rabies.
It is the only company that has received approval from the European Union, the United States and other countries for its Mpox vaccine.
As early as 2003, the company began working with the US government to develop a smallpox vaccine similar to the vaccine used against smallpox.
Bavarian Nordic has been instrumental in the development and delivery of vaccines during other health crises such as Ebola. In 2021, the company received a major order from Johnson & Johnson’s Janssen Pharmaceutical Companies worth 28 million US dollars.
Since the outbreak of Mpox two years agoCountries and regional health authorities have increased their vaccine stocks. The EU bought 2 million doses of vaccines approved for use in adults in cases of smallpox and monkeypox, as the two viruses are closely related.
The WHO’s declaration of a state of emergency has caused Bavarian Nordic’s share price to rise by over 40 percent. The company’s shares have risen 51 percent since the beginning of the year and its market capitalization is $3.28 billion.
Bavarian Nordic is the latest in a series of Danish pharmaceutical companies that have gained momentum recently. Novo Nordisk has stratospheric growth in recent years due to the popularity of its weight loss and diabetes drugs Wegovy and Ozempic. Meanwhile, Zealand Pharma as another challenger in the anti-obesity drug market.
The collective influence of the Danish pharmaceutical industry has led to strong Economic growthand even led to an increase in GDP vary with the performance of its pharmaceutical manufacturers.
COURTESY OF BAVARIAN NORDIC
What role does Bavarian Nordic play now?
As the Mpox crisis continues to develop, Bavarian Nordic has announced that it is increasing the pace of vaccine production to improve access. The company has also told African health authorities that it can offer 2 million doses of the drug this year and 10 million doses by the end of 2025, according to Statement published by the Danish company on Saturday.
The company is now able to produce millions of doses because it has built up a stockpile “to provide sufficient capacity for any potential outbreaks,” it said.
But that’s not all: the company has also submitted new data to apply for EU approval to expand Imvanex distribution to adolescents. aged 12 to 17 yearsas the latest wave of cases is affecting younger people. The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has already granted the vaccine emergency approval for use in adolescents.
“The latest data we have presented are really important because they will hopefully help ensure that our vaccine is also used in adolescents,” said Paul Chaplin, CEO of Bavarian Nordic. told CNBC last week.
The African health authorities have asked for 10 million Vaccine doses that come from a combination of international donations as well as deliveries from Bavarian Nordic. Some other drug manufacturers may participate by providing vaccines – for example, the US company Emergent BioSolutions has a smallpox vaccine that is used to treat monkeypox. the latter application has not yet been approved by the FDA.
For its part, the Danish company also plans to conduct clinical trials with children between 2 and 12 years of age to test the safety of the vaccine against Mpox disease in children.
Despite the crucial role the drug has played in containing the spread of Mpox, Chaplin insists it is not the “only solution” to the disease.
“The international community needs to come together with Bavarian Nordic and really find a way to distribute this vaccine and contain the outbreak,” he said.
Bavarian Nordic did not return immediately AssetsPlease leave a comment.