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Life Style / Wellness

Bavarian Nordic vows to boost monkeypox vaccine supply to combat shortfall

Published: 24 Aug 2022 - 12:46 pm | Last Updated: 24 Aug 2022 - 12:47 pm

Reuters

COPENHAGEN/LONDON: Bavarian Nordic - the maker of the only approved monkeypox vaccine - said it was exploring the viability of using technically expired doses to help bridge a growing gap between demand and supply due to the current outbreak.

In an interview with Reuters, CEO Paul Chaplin said current global demand for the vaccine is "exceeding our ability to deliver."

More than 40,000 confirmed cases of monkeypox - including a handful of deaths - in over 80 countries where the virus is not endemic have been reported since early May. About a third of the current global case count is in the United States.

The World Health Organisation has labeled the outbreak a global health emergency, while scarce supply of the vaccine has incentivised several countries to stretch out doses, with largely unknown outcomes, to make the most of existing stocks.

One way to address that problem is evaluating whether millions of doses delivered to the United States in previous years that have technically expired are still viable.

From the testing conducted so far, roughly half a million doses still have shelf life, Chaplin said, adding that the decision to use such doses ultimately lies with U.S. regulators.

Meanwhile, the United States, European Union and Britain are changing the way the vaccine is administered to stretch existing supplies.

The approach involves injecting a smaller amount of the shot intradermally, between the layers of the skin, which increases by fivefold the doses that can be used from one vial.

Chaplin raised doubts about the safety of this so-called fractional dosing approach, citing limited data backing it and evidence that injecting in this way could result in increased local reactions compared to the original method of injecting it into a layer of fat beneath the skin.

He also highlighted that the small study that tested the viability of the new approach showed that the intradermal administration prevented about a fifth of participants from getting their second shot.

At the moment, Bavarian is not delivering vaccine doses at the pace that countries have requested, but the company is expecting to unveil additional manufacturing partnerships in the coming weeks, said Chaplin.

"We are gearing up expanding manufacturing capacity to deliver that demand as soon as we can."

Days ago, the company said it had signed with Michigan-based Grand River Aseptic to expand its ability to deliver finished doses, and on Wednesday said its own Danish facility had reopened with expanded capacity.

Altogether, Bavarian expects to deliver roughly four million vaccine doses by the end of the year to countries, using doses that have been newly manufactured since May, Chaplin said.

According to a Reuters tally of government statements, there are 1.5 million vials of vaccine that have either been administered or currently available in the ten worst-affected countries, which account for nearly 90% of all cases. The vast majority of doses are in the United States.

The WHO estimates 10 million doses will be needed globally to protect the people at highest risk.

Bavarian, which has raised its 2022 outlook six times since the outbreak started in May, said sales of its monkeypox vaccine - variously called Jynneos, Imvanex and Imvamune depending on geography - amounted to 117 million Danish crowns ($15.65 million) in the second quarter. It also reiterated its full-year outlook on Wednesday.