The company has entered an agreement with the United States Department of Defense (DoD) for the development of a prophylactic vaccine against the equine encephalitis virus-a rare, but potentially deadly mosquito-borne illness.
With funding from the DoD, Bavarian Nordic will utilize its MVA-BN platform to develop a vaccine against various strains of the virus, for which there is currently no preventative vaccine treatment available. An MVA-BN based candidate vaccine targeting three separate equine encephalitis viruses including Eastern (EEEV), Venezuelan (VEEV), and Western (WEEV) has already demonstrated efficacy against all three viruses in preclinical models.
The multi-year collaboration will include further preclinical studies to support clinical development, GMP production and establishment of safety and immunogenicity in humans. Clinical proof of concept data will warrant further development of the MVA-BN based candidate vaccine with potential follow-on funding towards FDA licensure and production. The vaccine would then be available to the DoD as needed to vaccinate individuals who may be deployed in a region considered at high risk for a particular illness.
The agreement includes total potential considerations of approximately US$36 million. The award of this multi-year contract does not change the company’s financial guidance for 2018.