Bavarian Nordic to acquire portfolio of travel vaccines from Emergent BioSolutions.

The acquisition also includes facilities and key personnel related to the acquired assets.

Upon closing of the transaction, Bavarian Nordic will acquire: i. Vivotif (Typhoid Vaccine Live Oral Ty21a), the only oral vaccine licensed by the FDA for the prevention of typhoid fever, a potentially severe and life-threatening infection caused by the bacterium Salmonella typhi. The vaccine is also approved in Europe and is marketed in more than 25 countries. ii. Vaxchora (Cholera Vaccine Live Oral), the only FDA-licensed vaccine for the prevention of cholera caused by Vibrio cholerae serogroup O1, a potentially serious intestinal disease. The vaccine is also approved in Europe and is marketed in more than 25 countries. iii. A late-stage vaccine candidate targeting Chikungunya with expected Phase III read-out in the second half of 2023 and projected launch in 2025. The vaccine has a highly competitive profile in an area with a high unmet medical need. iv. US-based research and development facilities related to the development of the Chikungunya vaccine, a Swiss-based biologics manufacturing facility, and EU/US-based commercial operations with a specialty salesforce.

“This acquisition adds not only to our commercial portfolio and reinforces our leading position in travel vaccines, but it also strengthens our pipeline with a promising late-stage vaccine candidate against Chikungunya, an emerging infectious disease that represents a significant unmet medical need worldwide. Combined, these assets, together with the acquired capabilities within research and development, manufacturing, and commercial, will make a significant contribution to our vision of becoming one of the largest pure-play vaccine companies. Travel vaccines are seeing a rebound after the COVID-19 pandemic and the expanded portfolio allows us to further explore synergies in our commercial presence across key markets. Likewise, the addition of further manufacturing capabilities provides us with greater flexibility and scale in production, as we continue our preparations for the launch of several new products over the next few years,” said Paul Chaplin, President, and Chief Executive Officer of Bavarian Nordic.

Strategic rationale: Bavarian Nordic has a vision to become one of the largest pure-play vaccine companies through organic growth and launch of new products from its R&D pipeline, combined with a selective M&A approach focused on products that fit strategically into the Company’s infectious disease portfolio. Based on the company’s successful track record of growing underprioritized products, the expectations for this acquisition are high.

Through this acquisition, the Company will further expand and diversify its commercial portfolio and development pipeline. The addition of two market-leading, and revenue-generating vaccines against cholera and typhoid fever, which are marketed in more than 25 countries across US and Europe, provides clear commercial synergies to the Company’s existing business as travel vaccines are already a major part of the portfolio. This will establish Bavarian Nordic as a global leader in this area.

Furthermore, the acquisition enables expansion of Bavarian Nordic’s US commercial sales, marketing, and distribution setup, as well as increased scale in more European markets where the Company is not present today.

Through the acquisition, Bavarian Nordic has also obtained the global rights and R&D know-how to a promising vaccine candidate against Chikungunya, a viral disease which spreads to humans via infected mosquitoes that can cause severely debilitating joint pain. The disease is endemic in many tropic and subtropic countries with increasing prevalence seen over time. There are currently no approved vaccines against Chikungunya, which analysts estimate could represent an annual market worth more than USD 500 million.