To curb the spread of Mpox in Africa, the Vaccine Alliance, Gavi and Bavarian Nordic on Wednesday announced an Advance Purchase Agreement to secure 500,000 doses of the Modified Vaccinia Ankara-Bavarian Nordic (MVA-BN) mpox vaccine, which will be supplied to countries in Africa affected by the outbreak of the disease.
The doses are scheduled for delivery in 2024, according to a press statement issued by Gavi.
The statement noted that the vaccines will be funded by Gavi’s First Response Fund, a new financial mechanism created in June 2024 to provide rapid funding for vaccine purchases during health emergencies.
As of the end of week 35 of 2024, a total of 26,544 cases have been reported, of which 5,732 were confirmed and 724 resulted in death, across 15 African Union Member States in all five regions of Africa, according to the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention.
The MVA-BN vaccine received prequalification from the WHO on September 13, and Bavarian Nordic will be ready to supply the vaccines pending the signing of a supply agreement with UNICEF, Gavi’s alliance partner, which will be delivering these doses.
“The First Response Fund was designed in collaboration with Gavi donors and partners specifically to provide rapid early funding for emergencies such as mpox. Using it today to fund the first direct transaction for vaccines in support of equitable access and the global response, just over a month since mpox was declared a public health emergency, takes us a long way toward our goal of protecting those most at risk.
“We are committed to working with affected governments and our partners to turn these vaccines into vaccinations as quickly and effectively as possible and, over time, to build a global vaccine stockpile if sufficient funding is secured for Gavi’s work through 2030. We thank our donors for enabling us to act rapidly by committing funds to the First Response Fund before an emergency occurred,” said Dr Sania Nishtar, Chief Executive Officer of Gavi.
Paul Chaplin, President & CEO of Bavarian Nordic, said, “We are pleased to sign this agreement and strengthen our commitment to support Gavi and other global health partners, who have demonstrated strong leadership in making life-saving vaccines available for vulnerable populations in developing countries for decades.
“The doses secured through this agreement will significantly increase the availability of mpox vaccines for African countries, and we are pleased that Gavi has selected our MVA-BN vaccine, which has proven highly effective during the global mpox outbreak in 2022.”
In addition to activating the First Response Fund, approved by the Gavi Board in June, Gavi moved swiftly to trigger the mechanism following the declaration of mpox as a public health emergency. It unlocked emergency funding for affected countries to begin preparations for vaccine rollout, such as training healthcare workers and engaging with communities and is working with donors and partners to facilitate dose donations.
“Medium- and longer-term measures that are expected to support the mpox response include authorisation from Gavi’s Board, contingent on donor funding for Gavi’s next strategic period, to establish a stockpile of mpox vaccines for use in future outbreaks, and, with an even longer horizon, to contribute to the establishment of a sustainable vaccine manufacturing industry in Africa through the African Vaccine Manufacturing Accelerator, which was also launched in June.
“This APA follows the delivery of over a quarter of a million doses of Bavarian Nordic vaccines donated by other nations and Bavarian Nordic to the Democratic Republic of the Congo. The doses will be allocated to those most in need as per WHO’s Access and Allocation Mechanism, published on September 13,” it added.
The MVA-BN is the only non-replicating mpox vaccine approved in the U.S., Switzerland, and Singapore.
Originally developed as a smallpox vaccine in collaboration with the U.S. government to ensure the supply of a smallpox vaccine for the entire population, including immunocompromised individuals who are not recommended for vaccination with traditional replicating smallpox vaccines, MVA-BN has been indicated for use in the general adult population in individuals considered at risk for smallpox or mpox infection.
Bavarian Nordic has been a long-term supplier of the vaccine to national stockpiles during the 2022-2023 mpox outbreak.
SOURCE: PUNCH NEWS
