Inside the Bavarian Nordic: The $3.3 billion Danish vaccine maker with the world’s only cure for mpox

What started as a strain with most cases in the Democratic Republic of Congo has now spread to other parts of Africa. It also recorded its first European case in Sweden, prompting the World Health Organization to declare a global emergency last week.

Mpox, formerly called Monkeypox, has proven fatal for hundreds of those who contract it, including children, although most cases have been mild so far.

Only one company has the cure for this: Nordic Bavarian.

When the situation turned dire last week, the Danish pharmaceutical giant donated 40,000 doses of its smallpox vaccine called Imvanex to the public health body in Africa. Regional groups such as the European Commission have said they will donate 215,000 doses of the vaccine from their stockpile to African health authorities.

The drug was approved in 2022 when a health emergency was declared due to mpox, and at that time the vaccine helped to stop the outbreak to a large extent.

More Imvanex (also called Jynneos) is needed to protect those most vulnerable to a potential mpox infection. Congo, where many of the cases have been recorded, still has no vaccines at all.

So what do we know about the Nordic Bavarian and how did it find itself in the middle of the latest global health emergency?

Another Danish pharmaceutical giant

Bavarian Nordic, founded in 1994, is a Copenhagen-based pharmaceutical company dedicated to the development of vaccines, including Mpox, Typhoid and Rabies.

It is the only company that has received approval from the European Union, the US and other countries for its smallpox vaccine.

It began working on its smallpox vaccine, similar to the one used for mpox, back in 2003 with the US government.

Bavarian Nordic has been instrumental in developing and delivering vaccines through other health crises such as Ebola. For example, in 2021, the company received a bulk purchase order from Johnson & Johnson’s Janssen pharmaceutical companies worth $28 million.

Since the mpox outbreak two years ago, countries and regional health departments have increased their vaccine supplies. At that time, the EU purchased 2 million doses of the vaccine, approved for use in adults in cases of smallpox and monkeypox, as the two viruses are closely related.

The emergency declaration by the WHO caused Bavarian Nordic shares to jump over 40%. The company’s shares are up 51% year-to-date, with a market capitalization of $3.28 billion.

Bavarian Nordic is the latest of a slew of Danish pharmaceutical companies to gain popularity recently. Novo Nordisk has experienced stratospheric growth in recent years following the popularity of its weight loss and diabetes drugs Wegovy and Ozempic. Meanwhile, Zealand Pharma has emerged as another challenger in the obesity drug market.

The collective power of Denmark’s pharmaceutical industry has resulted in strong economic growth, causing even its GDP to influence along with the performance of its drug manufacturers.

What is the role of the Nordic Bavarian now?

As the mpox crisis continues to evolve, Bavarian Nordic said it is increasing the pace at which it produces vaccines to improve access. It has also told African health officials that it can provide 2 million doses of the drug this year and 10 million doses by the end of 2025, according to a statement released by the Danish company on Saturday.

It is able to produce millions of doses now because it has built up an inventory “to provide a surge capacity for potential outbreaks,” it said.

That’s not all – the company has also submitted new data to seek EU approval to extend Imvanex to teenagers aged 12 to 17, as the recent spate of cases has affected younger people. The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has already granted emergency approval for use of the vaccine in adolescents.

“The latest data we’ve presented is really, really important because we hope it will expand the use of our vaccine in teenagers,” said Paul Chaplin, Nordic Bavarian CEO. CNBC last week.

African health authorities have requested 10 million doses of the vaccine, which will come from a combination of international donations as well as supplies from Bavarian Nordic. Other drugmakers could participate by providing vaccines — for example, US-based Emergent BioSolutions has a smallpox vaccine that was used to treat monkeypox. However, the latter application has not yet been approved by the FDA.

For its part, the Danish company also plans to conduct clinical trials in those between the ages of 2 and 12 to test the safety of the vaccine as mpox hits children.

Despite its key role in limiting the spread of mpox, Chaplin insists it is not the “only solution” for the disease.

“The international community needs to join with Bavarian Nordic and really find a way to distribute this vaccine and contain the outbreak,” he said.

Bavarian Nordic did not return immediately wealthhis request for comment.

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