October 30, 2024 | Access to Medicines

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Bavarian Nordic Mpox Shot Now Second-Most Expensive Vaccine UNICEF Distributes

Contact:
Asia Russell (Health GAP ): 1 267 475 2645| asia@healthgap.org

Health Groups Urge Bavarian Nordic to Cut High Price of Mpox Vaccine, Quadruple Supply Under Existing UNICEF agreement. 

WASHINGTON D.C. — At $65 per dose, Bavarian Nordic’s mpox vaccine, Jynneos (MVA-BN), is the second-most expensive vaccine that UNICEF distributes, according to new Public Citizen findings. Behind Jynneos, all other vaccines are priced under $27, with the lowest price listed at 18 cents for tetanus and diphtheria shots.

Twelve health advocacy organizations sent a letter to Bavarian Nordic CEO Paul Chaplin urging the company to increase UNICEF’s supply from one million to four million doses under its current deal, without additional charge, cutting the effective price to $16.25 per dose. The organizations also urged Bavarian Nordic to lower the price of Jynneos for all low- and middle-income countries and to release its vaccine technology to local manufacturers to support sustainable access. After months of inquiry by advocates and news outlets, Bavarian Nordic has still not justified its pricing practices.

Public Citizen’s Access to Medicine program director Peter Maybarduk says Bavarian Nordic must take this public health crisis seriously, lower its price and make the shot more widely available.

“Sixty-five dollars per dose is totally unfair and unjustified,” said Maybarduk. “Bavarian Nordic should quadruple its pledged supply to UNICEF today, lowering its effective price per dose and ensuring there will be enough vaccine to meet health need. Bavarian Nordic should be ashamed to see its mpox vaccine listed as an outlier in price – and for such little supply – especially during this global health emergency.”

Health Global Access Project (GAP) policy analyst Brook Baker, said the stakes are far too high to let Bavarian Nordic get away with its greedy business practices.

 “The need for Bavarian Nordic’s mpox vaccine is millions of doses, yet it promises supplies that are sufficient for only 500,000 people and is charging a price 13-times higher than estimated costs of production for similar vaccines,” said Baker. “Quartering the price by quadrupling the supply is a quick fix to an unconscionable supply agreement that wastes money that could be used to accelerate vaccine rollout. The mpox outbreak is too volatile and deadly in Africa to allow Bavarian Nordic’s profiteering.”

In their response to health groups’ previous letter in August, Gavi and UNICEF acknowledged the cost concerns around the Jynneos mpox vaccine, stating that the high cost and two-dose regimen “could impact the amount of vaccines Gavi and UNICEF can purchase and ultimately the number of people reached and potentially even our ability to stop this outbreak.

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