Will the EU buy smallpox vaccines?
Here's what the Financial Times revealed about EU countries' purchase of smallpox vaccines from Denmark's Bavarian Nordic
According to people familiar with the matter, writes the Financial Times , EU officials are working on a potential centralized procurement agreement for smallpox vaccines to be used against the growing number of monkeypox infections in Europe, while nations are competing to secure orders for the relatively limited number of doses available.
Monkeypox typically causes fever and skin lesions, but usually heals on its own, without treatment. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), the smallpox vaccine is up to 85% effective in preventing a monkeypox infection, due to the similarities between the pathogens.
Smallpox was eradicated more than four decades ago and vaccine stocks were held to prevent a possible reappearance. World health authorities in Europe and elsewhere are preparing to use the vaccine in contacts with monkeypox cases to stem its spread.
"The European Commission is certainly considering what can be done centrally," Andrea Ammon, director of the European Center for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC), said in an interview Tuesday.
Centralized purchasing is "one of the options being considered, but of course countries are also considering what can be done bilaterally," he added.
The agency was asked to calculate the number of vaccine doses needed. Ammon, who said the volume of smallpox vaccine available in Europe was not known, did not want to speculate on the likely volume required, but added: "It's definitely not at the population level like Covid."
There is no certainty that the deal will go through, people aware of the discussions pointed out, although the talks continue and the potential number of doses to be procured is also being evaluated.
Danish pharmaceutical manufacturer Bavarian Nordic said it had been contacted by the EU for vaccines to be used throughout the bloc, but there were no negotiations. Paul Chaplin, CEO, said in an interview that the company had held at least one meeting with the EU Health Emergency Preparedness and Response Authority (Hera).
Chaplin said 1.4 million doses of the vaccine, known as Imvanex in Europe and Jynneos in the United States, were available in stock in Denmark.
Monkeypox is endemic to West and Central Africa, but WHO recorded the largest outbreak outside the continent this year. As of Tuesday, it had registered 131 cases, mostly in Europe and North America. Another 92 were classified as probable, with clusters identified in more than a dozen countries.
Bavarian Nordic is the sole manufacturer of the vaccine. Chaplin said he will be able to deliver "thousands of doses immediately".
He also said the group is talking to "many" EU countries and is also discussing with health organizations such as the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and WHO.
Chaplin declined to comment on details of the company's discussions with governments and pricing, citing commercial confidentiality. Bavarian Nordic said last week that an undisclosed European country has signed an order. The United States also recently signed an agreement with the group. The company's shares have gained 49% since the UK's first case of monkeypox was declared this month.
The EU Commission, in response to questions from the Financial Times , said on Monday that Hera is in close contact with member states, the European Medicines Agency (EMA) and international experts to ensure access to tools for counteract epidemics.
“Hera is ready to work on procurement and address challenges related to the availability and distribution of medical countermeasures and to increase storage capacity to avoid shortages and bottlenecks in employment,” he added.
The EU has taken a similar approach to sourcing Covid-19 vaccines. Supporters of this effort said it allowed less powerful or wealthy countries to have access to the same tools as richer and more powerful ones within the bloc.
(Extract from the foreign press review by eprcomunicazione )
This is a machine translation from Italian language of a post published on Start Magazine at the URL https://www.startmag.it/sanita/lue-comprera-i-vaccini-contro-il-vaiolo/ on Sat, 28 May 2022 06:42:56 +0000.