Letter to Bavarian Nordic Urging Lower Price, Greater Supply of Jynneos Mpox Vaccine

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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

cc:
Martin Præstegaard
ATP Koncernen
Kongens Vænge 8
3400 Hillerød
Denmark

Dear Mr. Chaplin,

Health groups have voiced concerns about Bavarian Nordic’s mpox vaccine pricing and the detrimental impact it imposes on equity and the broader mpox response.^[1] Despite calls to prioritize affordability and transparency, Bavarian Nordic has yet to provide meaningful justification for its pricing, especially with respect to supply to hard-hit and low-resource countries.

In light of new information, as well as Bavarian Nordic’s continued reluctance to provide clear commitments to affordability and transparency, we write again to request that your company take meaningful steps to  increase access to MVA-BN by:

• Committing a larger volume of vaccines to UNICEF. Bavarian Nordic should quadruple its supply order with UNICEF from one million doses to four million doses. This supply should be made available free of charge, cutting the effective per dose price to $16.25 for the existing agreement. Bavarian Nordic should further adjust the price for future orders based on a verifiable cost-plus basis, with transparent justification;
• Reducing the price for all LMIC purchasers using the same verifiable, transparent approach; and
• Enabling longer-term access to mpox vaccines, including by continuing trials in children, seeking prompt regulatory approval for use of MVA-BN in new populations, engaging in affirmative tech transfer with LMIC manufacturers, and making MVA-BN doses available for research purposes.

Bavarian Nordic has secured over $2.3 billion from U.S. government investments for the development, licensure, and procurement of MVA-BN. ​With this level of public investment, Bavarian Nordic must ensure broad and affordable access to MVA-BN and public-facing transparency in its pricing strategy.

Recently, UNICEF announced it would pay $65 per dose of MVA-BN. This price makes it one of UNICEF’s most expensive vaccines by price per dose. The same was the case when PAHO procured MVA-BN in 2022. Bavarian Nordic’s excessive pricing comes at severe risk to the public—potentially wasting millions of dollars in public funds provided to UNICEF and Gavi and unnecessarily limiting access for people in need. Moreover, Bavarian Nordic’s mpox vaccine has other, highly profitable markets in high-income countries that buy and replenish stockpiles for health security relating to both smallpox and mpox.

Bavarian Nordic has stated that the price offered to UNICEF is the lowest available price.^[2] However, based on publicly available information, Public Citizen estimates that the U.S. government pays less.^[3] This finding, along with the secretive nature of Bavarian Nordic’s pricing, requires clear justification from Bavarian Nordic on its approach to pricing for access in LMICs.

We ask for your response to  the following concerns regarding MVA-BN pricing and access:

1. Will you immediately commit to quadrupling your supply to UNICEF/Gavi on a delivery schedule that will meet the outbreak need for mpox vaccination, including, if appropriate, to establish a stockpile for future endemic needs? At a minimum will you commit to increase the order and lower the price in accordance with the lowest possible price Bavarian Nordic can offer, based on a verifiable cost-plus basis?
2. Will you clearly detail MVA-BN’s costs? Such details should include: A breakdown of production costs and other relevant costs, sales volumes, and revenues generated.
3. Will you detail how Bavarian Nordic arrived at the $65 per dose price offered to UNICEF? What justification was provided to prove that the price offered was the lowest and was fair? More broadly, please detail Bavarian Nordic’s pricing structure for MVA-BN, including for tiered pricing and volume-based pricing.

We believe Bavarian Nordic can and should do more to enable short-term and long-term access to MVA-BN. By taking a more access-oriented and transparent approach, Bavarian Nordic can help ensure demand is not artificially restricted and more people can benefit from MVA-BN.

We look forward to your response.

Sincerely,

Public Citizen
Health GAP
ACT Alliance
AIDS Healthcare Foundation
AVAC
COMARESS
FOCUS 1000
NETWORK Lobby for Catholic Social Justice
Partners In Health
People’s Medicine Alliance
RESULTS UK
Treatment Action Group

^[1] https://www.citizen.org/article/letter-urging-gavi-unicef-to-negotiate-fair-price-of-mpox-vaccines/;  https://www.citizen.org/article/letter-to-bavarian-nordic-urging-equitable-access-to-mpox-vaccine/
^[2]https://www.devex.com/news/devex-checkup-much-is-missing-in-the-response-to-africa-s-mpox-outbreak-108453
^[3]https://www.citizen.org/news/bavarian-nordic-charged-unicef-up-to-10-more-per-dose-of-mpox-vaccine-than-u-s/