Topline Shares of Danish biotech Bavarian Nordic surged on Thursday after the company reported strong earnings and a large order of its mpox vaccine, extending its gains this year as nations mobilize to combat an escalating outbreak of the disease in Africa.
Key Facts Tangent Shares for Emergent BioSolutions advanced nearly 9% by market close on Wednesday.
Emergent also acquired ACAM2000 French pharma giant Sanofi in 2017, a smallpox vaccine that could potentially be made available for use against mpox given the viruses’ similarities.
Emergent shares have soared more than 20% over the past five days and are up more than 330% this year to date, though even with its most recent gains, stock has dipped nearly a quarter over the past month.
News Peg World Health Organization director general Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus declared a public health emergency of international concern last week in response to an outbreak of mpox in central Africa.
More than a dozen countries have been affected, though the outbreak is predominantly centered on the Democratic Republic of Congo.
That’s how many vaccine doses Bavarian Nordic says it can supply by the end of 2025.
Further Reading ForbesMpox, Explained: Key Details On Latest Virus Outbreak Fortune EuropeInside Bavarian Nordic: The $3.3 billion Danish vaccine maker with the world’s only cure for mpox
First line.
As countries rally to tackle an increasing pandemic of the disease in Africa, the stocks of Danish biotech Bavarian Nordic soared on Thursday following the company’s announcement of robust earnings and a sizable order for its mpox vaccine. The company’s gains this year have been extended.
Important Details.
Side note.
By Wednesday’s market close, Emergent BioSolutions’ shares had increased by almost 9%. The U.S. s. company sells nerve agents, a class of banned chemical weapons, as well as countermeasures for health and security risks like anthrax and botulism. Narcan, an opioid overdose reversal agent, is also sold by the company. Due to the similarities between the two viruses, Emergent also purchased ACAM2000, a smallpox vaccine, from the French pharmaceutical giant Sanofi in 2017. This vaccine may eventually be made available for use against mpox. As part of an attempt to streamline operations, the Maryland-based company has concentrated on turning its business around this year. On Wednesday, Emergent announced that the sale of a manufacturing facility in Baltimore to Bora Pharmaceuticals had been completed. According to reports, the sale closed at about $30 million. Although emerging market stocks have gained over 20 percent in the last five days and over 330 percent so far this year, the stock has lost almost a quarter of its value in the last month despite the recent gains.
News Clip.
A pandemic of mpox in central Africa prompted World Health Organization director general Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus to declare a public health emergency of international concern last week. The leading public health organization on the continent, the Africa Center for Disease Control and Prevention, had earlier this year issued a similar alert, warning that there had been at least 17,000 cases and over 500 fatalities from the virus. Although the outbreak is primarily focused on the Democratic Republic of the Congo, more than a dozen countries have been impacted. Primarily transmitted by intimate contact with afflicted individuals, animals, or contaminated items such as towels, mpox, also known as monkeypox, frequently manifests as a fever, enlarged lymph nodes, and a distinct, pus-filled rash. Although the condition is usually not fatal, it can be, and the people most at risk of not recovering are small children, expectant mothers, and those with weakened immune systems. Two distinct viral groups, referred to as clades I (1) and II (2), are known to cause mpox. Clade Ib, a clade Ib offshoot of clade I, is the virus responsible for this outbreak. Infections from clade II viruses, which were the main causes of the global outbreak in 2022 that primarily affected gay, bisexual, and other men who have sex with men, are believed to be less deadly than clade I mpox, which has historically only been found in parts of central Africa and the Democratic Republic of the Congo.
Large Amount.
Ten million. By the end of 2025, Bavarian Nordic claims to be able to provide that many vaccination doses. Two million of these, including the recently revealed order, will be made available throughout the balance of 2024, the company stated.
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Read More.
ForbesMpox, Explained: Key Details On Latest Virus Outbreak Fortune EuropeInside Bavarian Nordic: The $3.3 billion Danish vaccine maker with the world’s only cure for mpox.
