Bavarian Nordic A/S is a fully integrated biotechnology company focused on the development, manufacturing and commercialization of vaccines. The company is headquartered in Hellerup, Denmark, with a manufacturing facility in Kvistgård, and an additional site in Hørsholm.[3] The company has a research and development facility in Martinsried, Germany, and offices in Zug, Switzerland, and Morrisville, North Carolina. The company uses viral vectors in its research and development.
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| Company type | Public |
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| ISIN | DK0015998017 |
| Industry | Biotechnology |
| Founded | 1994 |
| Headquarters | Philip Heymans Alle 3 DK-2900 Hellerup, , Denmark |
Key people | |
| Products | Imvanex, Imvamune, Jynneos, Rabipur/RabAvert, Encepur, Vivotif, Vaxchora, Mvabea |
| Revenue |  7.062 billion kr. (2023) |
| Total assets | 14.373 billion kr. (2023) |
| Total equity | 10.340 billion kr. (2023) |
Number of employees | 1.379 (2023) |
| Website | www.bavarian-nordic.com |
| Footnotes / references [6] | |
Technologies
MVA-BN
MVA-BN is a proprietary technology developed by Bavarian Nordic. It is derived from the Modified vaccinia Ankara virus. MVA-BN is characterized by the inability to replicate in human cells,[7] contrary to other vaccinia-based vaccines, which may replicate in humans, thus potentially causing severe and life-threatening side effects. Developed as the non-replicating smallpox and monkeypox vaccine, MVA-BN is approved in Canada as Imvamune,[8] in the European Union, as Imvanex,[9] and the United States as Jynneos.[10][11][12] The vaccine was supplied for emergency use to the U.S. Strategic National Stockpile as well as other government stockpiles.
The vaccine is being deployed worldwide to combat the 2022 monkeypox outbreak, leading to concerns over vaccine nationalism and hoarding by countries with pre-existing contracts.[13]
Ebola vaccine development and production
The company has worked for several years with the NIAID[14] on the development of a filovirus vaccine for Ebola and Marburg hemorrhagic fever diseases. In October 2014, following a successful pre-clinical demonstration of the combination vaccine regimen of its multivalent MVA-BN Filovirus vaccine and Crucell/Janssen's AdVac technology based on adenoviral vectors, Bavarian Nordic joined efforts with Crucell Holland B.V., one of the Janssen Pharmaceuticals companies of Johnson & Johnson to develop and manufacture this vaccine regimen intended for emergency use to help contain the outbreak in West Africa.[15][16][17] In January 2015, the company had produced the first 400,000 doses of the vaccine and the first clinical trial of the vaccine regimen was initiated in the UK, with additional trials planned in the US and Africa.[18] It was approved for medical use in the European Union in July 2020.[19]
Acquisitions
In October 2019, it was announced that Bavarian Nordic would acquire travel vaccines Rabipur(/Rabavert) for rabies and Encepur for tick-borne encephalitis (TBE) from GlaxoSmithKline (GSK).[20][21] In February 2023, it was announced that Bavarian Nordic would acquire travel vaccines Vivotif for typhoid fever and Vaxchora for cholera, in addition to a late-stage candidate for chikungunya, from Emergent BioSolutions.[22]
Marketed products and pipeline
Bavarian Nordic's marketed products and pipeline, as of July 2020.[23][24]
| Product | Indication | Phase | Remark |
|---|---|---|---|
| Imvanex | Smallpox, monkeypox and disease caused by vaccinia virus | Approved EU 2013-07 | Liquid-frozen. |
| Imvamune | Smallpox | Approved Canada 2013-11 | Liquid-frozen. |
| Jynneos | Smallpox and monkeypox | Approved US 2019-09-24 | Liquid-frozen. |
| MVA-BN (freeze-dried) | Smallpox | III | Phase 3 clinical trials completed. |
| Rabipur/RabAvert | (Pre-/post-exposure protection against) rabies | Approved | Acquisition completed on 31 December 2019. Bavarian Nordic assumes full sales and marketing responsibility from start 2020; manufacturing transfer takes place 2020-25 - during this period Bavarian Nordic will purchase remaining inventory of vaccines from GSK at different levels in the supply chain. |
| Encepur | European (Western) tick-borne encephalitis (TBE) virus | Approved | Acquisition completed on 31 December 2019. Bavarian Nordic assumes full sales and marketing responsibility from start 2020; manufacturing transfer takes place 2020-25 - during this period Bavarian Nordic will purchase remaining inventory of vaccines from GSK at different levels in the supply chain. |
| Mvabea | Ebola and Marburg virus | Approved EU 2020-07-01 | Licensed to Janssen. One dose of Janssen's primer Zabdeno® (Ad26.ZEBOV) followed 8 weeks later by a dose of Bavarian Nordic's booster Mvabea® (MVA-BN Filo) collectively constitutes Janssen's Ebola vaccine regimen. |
| MVA-BN RSV | RSV | II | Ph2 results announced on August 8, 2018.[25] After discussing the design of the Ph3 study with the FDA, its initiation is planned for winter 2021–22. Initial data read-out in 2022 - if data are good Bavarian Nordic will expand second part of Ph3 study, which will start up winter 2022–23. |
| MVA-BN HPV | Chronic HPV infection | II | Licensed to Janssen. Phase 1/2a study ongoing. |
| MVA-BN WEV | Western equine encephalitis virus | I | Ph1 topline results announced June 8, 2020.[26] Bavarian Nordic is currently in the process of obtaining additional funding from the U.S. authorities for the further clinical advancement of the vaccine candidate. |
| BN-Brachyury | Chordoma | II | Report initial ORR results from Ph2 study of BN-Brachyury in chordoma during 2020. |
| ABNCoV2 | COVID-19 | I/II | In July 2020, Bavarian Nordic licensed a capsid virus like particle (cVLP) COVID-19 vaccine candidate from AdaptVac. The vaccine candidate, ABNCoV2 has shown to be highly immunogenic in relevant pre-clinical models inducing durable responses equivalent to high convalescent sera from patients that have recovered from COVID-19. These responses have led to the demonstration of a durable and highly protective response from a COVID-19 challenge. Coupled with the ease of production and the ability to rapidly adapt the vaccine platform to new potentially more deadly variants, ABNCoV2 looks like a highly promising candidate.[27] Initial Phase I/IIa results are expected in Q1 2021.[28] |
Associations
Bavarian Nordic is a member of the Alliance for Biosecurity, a group of companies that work towards preventing and treating severe infectious diseases, especially those that present global security challenges.[29]
The company is a funding partner of the Bipartisan Commission on Biodefense,[30] and a former donor to the Bipartisan Policy Center.[31]