Bavarian Nordic awarded new procurement framework contract by the European Commission to strengthen preparedness against smallpox and mpox

Bavarian Nordic A/S announced the award of a joint procurement contract by the European Commission, through the Health Emergency Preparedness and Response Authority (HERA), enabling the EU, its member states and additional European countries to purchase up to 8 million doses of the Company’s MVA BN smallpox/mpox vaccine. The two-year agreement, which may be extended for up to additional two years, builds on the previous agreement entered by the parties in 2022, and aims to ensure continuous access to the MVA BN vaccine throughout Europe. In this extended agreement, the European Commission and 20 countries have confirmed their participation.

Paul Chaplin, President and CEO of Bavarian Nordic said: “We are pleased to extend our collaboration with HERA to facilitate broad access to our smallpox and mpox vaccine across the region. This agreement is a recognition of public health security as part of the resilience that the EU is building to unify against threats on a larger scale, and we are proud to be part of the endeavors to safeguard Europe’s citizens against life-threatening diseases.”

By signing the agreement, approximately 1.1 million doses have already been committed, of which supply of the first 750,000 doses are expected to occur in 2026. Additionally, the contract contains provisions that allow contracting authorities to procure the vaccine at adjusted price for donations to low- and lower-middle-income countries in response to future outbreaks. Final contract signature is pending expiry of the statutory 10-day standstill period.

Background
Bavarian Nordic has collaborated with the European Commission’s Health Emergency Preparedness and Response Authority (HERA) since 2022, initially supporting the European Commission’s response to the global mpox outbreak through supply of its MVA BN vaccine. The framework agreement also allowed the European Commission and European Member States to stockpile MVA BN as a critical medical countermeasure against a potential reemergence of smallpox.