Danish drug maker Bavarian Nordic this week announced an award from the U.S. government, valued at up $18 million over 5-years, to advance development of a combined vaccine against smallpox and Marburg virus.
Issued by the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), the contract supports furthering candidate vaccine components and technologies that accelerate the immune response for use in post-event settings following the intentional release of pathogens that are considered a threat to public health.
Under the 2 year base period of the contract, valued at $4.4 million, the company will evaluate several candidate vaccines in preclinical studies. This may be followed by a Phase I clinical trial if NIAID extends contract options for the full five years.
Bavarian Nordic delivered four million doses of their IMVAMUNE® smallpox vaccines to the U.S. government in 2011 and anticipates delivery of approximately 14 million doses of IMVAMUNE® in 2012 through 2013 (Source: Bavarian Nordic 2011 Annual Report). The company additionally received a contract in April 2011 for development of a freeze-dried version of their smallpox vaccine to a total value of $94 million.