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Our Technology

Poxvirus-based technology platform

Bavarian Nordic has built its foundation around poxviral-based vaccine platform technologies, and in particular our proprietary technology, Modified Vaccinia Ankara – Bavarian Nordic (MVA-BN®).

MVA-BN is a robust and adaptable platform suitable for addressing a wide variety of infectious diseases and cancers. It is a further attenuated version of the Modified Vaccinia Ankara (MVA) virus, which is a highly attenuated strain of the poxvirus Chorioallantois Vaccinia virus Ankara (CVA).

MVA-BN® is approved for the prevention of smallpox and mpox in the U.S., Canada and the EU.

A major advantage of MVA-BN is the virus’ inability to replicate in a vaccinated individual, in contrast to the original smallpox vaccines. The replication cycle is blocked at a very late stage, which ensures that new viruses are not generated and released in the body. This means that the virus cannot spread in a vaccinated person, which likely contributes to the favorable safety profile observed for MVA-BN-based vaccines.

In terms of efficacy, MVA-BN induces strong cellular activity (CTL) as well as humoral (antibody) immune response and has demonstrated an ability to stimulate a response even in individuals with pre-existing immunity against vaccinia. MVA-BN homologous vaccines consist of an initial prime dose to activate the immune system, followed by a second booster dose of the same vaccine. These are simpler and easier to develop and license than heterologous vaccines, which use different types of vaccine technologies.