BRIEF—$120 million US govt contract for Bavarian Nordic

Danish vaccine developer Bavarian Nordic says that the US Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority (BARDA), part of the Administration for Strategic Preparedness and Response at the US Department of Health and Human Services, has placed a new order valued at $120 million, primarily covering the manufacturing of new bulk product for the company’s Imvanex (marketed as Jynneos in the USA) smallpox/monkeypox vaccine.

Nearly 5.5 million doses have been manufactured for the US government over the course of 2022 and 2023, and replenishment of the bulk inventory is necessary to fulfil the company’s long-term commitment to deliver a freeze-dried version of the vaccine for US smallpox preparedness.

As a result of this latest order combined with other minor monkeypox vaccine orders recently secured, Bavarian Nordic now expects 2023 revenue to be around 6,900 million Danish kroner ($1,022 million), versus its previously forecast 6,000 million kroner, and EBITDA of about 2,300 million kroner (previously 2,200 million kroner).