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HHS Secretary of Health Tommy G. Thompson today announced that Bavarian Nordic A/S has been awarded a three-year contract with the US National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) to develop Bavarian Nordic’s proprietary MVA-BN safe smallpox vaccine. A total of two contracts have been awarded under the US government’s funding program resulting in a total funding of $ 20 million during the first twelve months.
Under the contract Bavarian Nordic must develop a plan for large-scale manufacture of MVA-BN to demonstrate how Bavarian Nordic could deliver up to 30 million doses to the federal government.
The full text of today’s HHS statement, including the comments made by Mr. Tommy G. Thompson, is attached.
Bavarian Nordic has been developing MVA-BN as a safe smallpox vaccine for the last three years and has already produced a comprehensive package of pre-clinical and clinical data that meets several of the objectives outlined in the US contract. Bavarian Nordic is the only company to have already completed small animal studies and a clinical Phase I study in healthy volunteers, demonstrating the excellent safety and immunogenicity of MVA-BN.
The collaboration with the HHS is not expected to affect Bavarian Nordic’s expectations for 2003, which remain a turnover of DKK 500 mill. and a profit before tax of DKK 250 mill.
Copenhagen, 25 February 2003
Asger Aamund, Chairman of the Board
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