Amid a US measles outbreak the US government has placed a $143.6m order for Bavarian Nordic’s smallpox/mpox jab Jynneos to bolster its infectious disease preparedness.
The order is part of a ten-year contract awarded to vaccine-developer Bavarian Nordic by the US government’s Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority (BARDA). The agreement between the pair includes options valued at $299m for the fill and finish of freeze-dried vaccines. Deliveries under the new contract options are planned for 2026.
The additional options exercised by BARDA support the manufacturing and supply of freeze-dried Jynneos by conversion of bulk vaccine, as well as supplemental payments for all doses procured under the freeze-dried contract. The latter was triggered after the freeze-dried formulation’s extended shelf life was demonstrated.
The freeze-dried formulation of Jynneos provides greater flexibility in stockpiling. The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved this version in March 2025 after Bavarian Nordic demonstrated comparability to the older liquid formulation in terms of immune responses.
Bavarian Nordic has supplied a liquid-frozen formulation of its vaccine to the US government for stockpiling since 2010 and ramped up production in response to the mpox outbreak in 2022-2023.
Liquid-frozen formulations require a temperature-controlled supply chain that keeps them frozen between production up until being used on a patient.
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By GlobalDataFreeze-dried formulations have fewer supply chain limitations, conferring advantages such as easier transportation, storage conditions, and extended shelf life. Freeze drying is a dehydration process to extend its shelf life and molecular stability.
Bavarian Nordic’s CEO Paul Chaplin said: “The freeze-dried vaccine, with its improved shelf life, provides a significant contribution to securing the long-term availability of countermeasures to protect US citizens against life-threatening diseases.”
The ten-year contract for the freeze-dried version came amid calls to stockpile vaccines with longer shelf-lives. With the $144m order, Bavarian Nordic stated that $284m of the $299m has been exercised to-date.
For a time, Jynneos was the only FDA-approved vaccine for the prevention of mpox. Emergent BioSolutions’ ACAM2000 then became the second vaccine for the infectious disease, winning FDA approval to prevent mpox in those at high risk of infection in August 2024.
Bavarian Nordic’s product, also known as MVA-BN and Imvanex in other regions, has been a key pillar of fighting the ongoing mpox outbreak in Africa. The biotech has sent more than a million doses of the vaccine to countries experiencing outbreaks and promised further ramp-ups in vaccine production.
Immunisation against infectious diseases has been in the news in the US too. The country is currently experiencing a measles outbreak, with increased scrutiny directed towards health secretary Robert F Kennedy Jr amid his anti-vaccine stances. The US Health and Human Services (HHS) chief, whose job includes overseeing the activities of BARDA, has peddled alternative and unproven treatments such as cod liver oil. A shift in public health tone came in early April 2025 when RFK Jr endorsed the MMR vaccine, though wider vaccine policy still remains at risk.
