Letter to Bavarian Nordic: Fix Approach to Pricing, Access

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(Read more about access and the mpox response).

 

Paul Chaplin
Bavarian Nordic A/S
Philip Heymans Alle 3
DK-2900 Hellerup
Denmark

Dear Mr. Chaplin,

We write to reiterate health groups’ call that Bavarian Nordic significantly lower its excessive price of the MVA-BN mpox vaccine and increase the quantity of doses available to UNICEF. We also urge Bavarian Nordic to provide the same affordable price across all low- and middle-income country purchasers. In this time of scarcity, you have a responsibility to price affordably so that health agencies can meet dire health needs.

The Africa CDC reports a dwindling number of vaccines available to respond to the ongoing mpox emergency affecting several African countries. Even the remaining doses “available” under UNICEF and Bavarian Nordic’s one million dose supply agreement require additional funding before they can be deployed. With an estimated need for as many as 6.4 million doses, MVA-BN’s high price of $65 dollars per dose threatens to further strain budgets and impede the response in Africa.

Global health and development efforts are increasingly imperiled. The sudden interruption of funding and other critical support from the U.S. underscores the need for renewed, public health-oriented commitments from all actors involved in the mpox response.

Your approach to access and pricing for MVA-BN has so far served to artificially limit supplies and waste money needed to accelerate the emergency response. We urge you to immediately remedy this approach. This requires ensuring that developing countries and those buying doses on their behalf can access sufficient quantities of MVA-BN at a fair price—instead of facing the risk that limited supplies and funding will be even more constrained. This is particularly important considering MVA-BN is the only mpox vaccine recommended for people that are severely immunocompromised.

We request your urgent written response detailing Bavarian Nordic’s plan to lower MVA-BN’s price and increase available supply to UNICEF to meet mpox response needs.

Sincerely,

Peter Maybarduk
Director, Access to Medicines Program
Public Citizen