COPENHAGEN, June 5, 2007 (AFP) - The Danish biopharmaceutical company Bavarian Nordic said Monday it had won an order from the US government for its smallpox vaccine worth up to 1.6 billion dollars (1.2 billion euros).
The base contract with the US Department of Health and Human Services worth 500 million dollars to provide 20 million doses of its IMVAMUNE vaccine for persons considered at risk for smallpox will also support additional research and development for its potential use in an emergency.
"We are proud and delighted that we now can deliver the world's first safe and effective smallpox vaccine for the protection of US citizens against bioterrorism using smallpox virus," the company said in a statement.
The United States currently has a sufficient stockpile of smallpox vaccine, but it uses a live version of the vaccinia virus. The Danish company's MVA vaccine contains a highly weakened form of the virus that cannot replicate in humans, making it safe for individuals with weakened immune systems.
"To protect ourselves from the remote but extremely grave threat of a deliberate release of smallpox virus, we need vaccines that can be safely given to all Americans, including individuals with weakened immune systems," HHS Secretary Mike Leavitt said in a statement in Washington.
The options worth another 1.1 billion dollars are for further clinical studies on the vaccine's use for people infected with HIV, children and the elderly, as well as the procurement of an additional 60 million doses of the vaccine.
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