Bavarian Gains After Mpox Order Brings Guidance To Top End

(Bloomberg) -- Bavarian Nordic A/S shares rose after the Danish supplier of a key vaccine against mpox said it will attain the top end of its full-year guidance following an order for the jabs from Europe.

It's now got enough contracts with governments, including the US, to reach aggregate revenue of about 5.3 billion Danish kroner ($790 million) this year amid the worst outbreak of mpox to date in Africa.

The stock advanced about 13% at the start of trading in Copenhagen on Thursday, extending its year-to-date gains to more than 55%.

Bavarian's mpox vaccine is the only inoculation for the deadly virus approved by both US and European Union regulators. 

The company on Thursday said second-quarter sales of its mpox and smallpox vaccine, marketed as Jynneos in the US, reached 680 million kroner. It expects that amount to reach 3 billion kroner for the full year, which is now already mostly covered by large contracts placed by government entities.

Bavarian reported second-quarter revenue of 1.43 billion kroner, topping estimates. 

The contract unveiled on Wednesday is for 440,000 doses of the smallpox/mpox vaccine from an undisclosed European country. It will help Bavarian generate a 2024 total 1.35 billion kroner in earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortization. The order was anticipated and won't impact its remaining vaccine capacity for the year, the company said.

The WHO last week said that the mpox outbreak represents a global health emergency — a second such declaration since 2022, with the deadly virus spreading quickly across Africa. The growing incidence of the new strain of mpox from Democratic Republic of Congo means there have been almost 19,000 cases on the continent since the beginning of the year.

“In response to recent events the company plans to ramp up vaccine manufacturing to ensure the continued equitable access to our mpox vaccine,” Chief Executive Officer Paul Chaplin said.

The outbreak is likely to lead to “sporadic” imported cases in Europe, the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control Director Pamela Rendi-Wagner said on Bloomberg Television Wednesday, adding that EU member states all need to be prepared.

Bavarian's vaccine was approved for mpox in the US in 2019 and in Europe in 2022. It was developed after the 9/11 attacks, when the US decided to stock up on vaccines for smallpox as part of its anti-terrorism program. The company now wants to extend formal approval to include adolescents and plans to study efficacy in kids.

--With assistance from Christian Wienberg and Naomi Kresge.

(Updates with shares, earnings from first paragraph)

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