US CDC recommends routine use of Bavarian Nordic mpox vaccine for adults at risk

[October 26, 2023]  (Reuters) -Danish pharmaceutical company Bavarian Nordic said on Wednesday a U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention panel has voted in favor of recommending the routine use of Jynneos vaccine for adults at risk of mpox.

The CDC's Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) voted to recommend that individuals 18 years and older with certain risk factors should receive two doses of Jynneos.

The panel had previously recommended the vaccine for individuals at risk of mpox only during an outbreak, Bavarian said.

The CDC estimates that 2 million U.S. individuals are eligible for vaccination against mpox under these recommendations, according to Bavarian.

About 23% of this group has received the recommended two doses of Jynneos during the 2022/2023 mpox outbreak to date, Bavarian said.

Bavarian Nordic is targeting a commercial launch of Jynneos in the U.S. in the first half of 2024, pending approval of the updated recommendations, it said.

Volunteer pharmacist Foster Knutson fills a syringe with a dose of the JYNNEOS smallpox and monkeypox vaccine during a clinic through the Pima County Department of Public Health at Abrams Public Health Center in Tucson, Arizona, U.S., August 20, 2022. REUTERS/Rebecca Noble/File Photo

The company on Monday reported second-quarter revenue that beat expectations, helped by the sale of its mpox/smallpox vaccine, sending its stock up around 10%.

In the United States, more than 30,000 cases of mpox have been reported since Jan. 1 last year, including 54 deaths, according to data from the CDC.

(Reporting by Mrinmay Dey in Bengaluru; Editing by Anil D'Silva, Jonathan Oatis and Sandra Maler)

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