Bavarian Nordic A/S is a Danish biotechnology company focused on the development, manufacturing and commercialization of vaccines. The company is headquartered in Hellerup, Denmark, with manufacturing facilities in Kvistgård, Denmark and near Bern, Switzerland.
In July 2025, the company agreed to be acquired by private equity firms Permira and Nordic Capital for (approximately US$3 billion).
Technologies
MVA-BN
MVA-BN is a proprietary technology developed by Bavarian Nordic. It is derived from the Modified vaccinia Ankara virus. MVA-BN is characterized by the inability to replicate in human cells,
contrary to other
vaccinia-based vaccines, which may replicate in humans, thus potentially causing severe and life-threatening side effects. Developed as the non-replicating
smallpox and
monkeypox vaccine, MVA-BN is approved in
Canada as
Imvamune,
in the
European Union, as
Imvanex,
and the United States as
Jynneos.
The vaccine was supplied for emergency use to the U.S. Strategic National Stockpile as well as other government stockpiles.
The vaccine is being deployed worldwide to combat the 2022 mpox outbreak, leading to concerns over vaccine nationalism and hoarding by countries with pre-existing contracts.[ Exclusive: Closure of World's Only Manufacturing Plant for Monkeypox Vaccine Raises Questions About World's Ability to Meet Rising Demand]
Ebola vaccine development and production
The company has worked for several years with the
NIAID on the development of a
filovirus vaccine for Ebola and Marburg hemorrhagic fever diseases. In October 2014, following a successful pre-clinical demonstration of the combination vaccine regimen of its multivalent MVA-BN Filovirus vaccine and Crucell/Janssen's AdVac technology based on adenoviral vectors, Bavarian Nordic joined efforts with Crucell Holland B.V., one of the Janssen Pharmaceuticals companies of Johnson & Johnson to develop and manufacture this vaccine regimen intended for emergency use to help contain the outbreak in West Africa.
In January 2015, the company had produced the first 400,000 doses of the vaccine and the first clinical trial of the vaccine regimen was initiated in the UK, with additional trials planned in the US and Africa.
It was approved for medical use in the European Union in July 2020.
Acquisitions
In October 2019, it was announced that Bavarian Nordic would acquire travel vaccines Rabipur(/Rabavert) for
rabies and Encepur for tick-borne encephalitis (TBE) from
GlaxoSmithKline (GSK).
In February 2023, it was announced that Bavarian Nordic would acquire travel vaccines Vivotif for
typhoid fever and Vaxchora for
cholera, in addition to a late-stage candidate for
chikungunya, from Emergent BioSolutions.
Marketed products and pipeline
Bavarian Nordic's marketed products and pipeline, as of June 2025.
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| Smallpox, mpox and disease caused by vaccinia virus
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| Licensed to Janssen. One dose of Janssen's primer Zabdeno (Ad26.ZEBOV) followed 8 weeks later by a dose of Bavarian Nordic's booster Mvabea® (MVA-BN Filo) collectively constitutes Janssen's Ebola vaccine regimen. |
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A Phase 2 clinical study is ongoing. |
Associations
Bavarian Nordic is a member of the Medical Countermeasures Coalition, a group of companies, academic institutions, and other organizations dedicated to building an effective medical countermeasure enterprise through sound public policy and strong public-private partnerships.
The company is a funding partner of the Bipartisan Commission on Biodefense,
External links
