UNICEF to Supply 1 Million Mpox Vaccines

Bavarian Nordic A/S announced an agreement with UNICEF to supply 500,000 MVA-BN® mpox vaccines for African countries impacted by the mpox clade 1 outbreak. 

Under the agreement, UNICEF will procure 1 million doses of the vaccine, including the 500,000 doses recently committed by Gavi. Bavarian Nordics intends to make all doses available for supply before the end of 2024.

In the agreement, UNICEF has negotiated a price of up to $65 per vaccine dose, the lowest price in the market.

UNICEF says, 'The mpox virus does not discriminate. Anyone exposed to the virus can become infected, and children, immunocompromised individuals, and pregnant women are at risk of severe disease.'

Paul Chaplin, President & CEO of Bavarian Nordic, said in a press release on September 26, 2024, “Combined with donations by various governments, institutions, and Bavarian Nordic, this agreement has helped to secure more than 2.5 million doses of MVA-BN, thus fulfilling the short-term requirement as expressed by the Africa CDC."

MVA-BN or Modified Vaccinia Ankara-Bavarian Nordic is the only non-replicating mpox - smallpox vaccine approved in the U.S., Switzerland, Singapore, Mexico (marketed as JYNNEOS®), Canada (IMVAMUNE®), and the EU/EAA and United Kingdom (IMVANEX®). 

In the U.S., JYNNEOS vaccines are commercially offered at health clinics and pharmacies.