One way to address that problem is evaluating whether millions of doses delivered to the US in previous years that have technically expired are still viable.
From the testing conducted so far, roughly half a million doses still have shelf life, Chaplin said, adding that the decision to use such doses ultimately lies with US regulators.
Meanwhile, the US, European Union and British regulators have backed changing the way the vaccine is administered by injecting a smaller amount of the shot intradermally (between the layers of the skin), which increases by five-fold the doses that can be used from one vial.
Regulators have justified the approach on the basis of a study involving more than 500 adults, which compared the performance of the vaccine given either intradermally or subcutaneously (that is injected into a layer of fat beneath the skin), as two doses given about a month apart.
Those who received the intradermal injection received one-fifth of the subcutaneous dose, but produced similar levels of antibodies as those who received the original subcutaneous dose, data showed.
FRACTIONAL DOSING
Chaplin raised doubts about the safety of this so-called fractional dosing approach, citing evidence from the same study that showed intradermal administration could result in increased local reactions compared to the original method, something regulators have also flagged.
Chaplin also highlighted that the study showed that the intradermal administration prevented about a fifth of participants from getting their second shot.
At the moment, Bavarian is not delivering vaccine doses at the pace that countries have requested, but the company is expecting to unveil additional manufacturing partnerships in the coming weeks, said Chaplin.
“We are gearing up expanding manufacturing capacity to deliver that demand as soon as we can.”
Days ago, the company said it had signed with Michigan-based Grand River Aseptic to expand its ability to deliver finished doses, and on Wednesday (Aug 24) said its own Danish facility had reopened with expanded capacity.
Altogether, Bavarian expects to deliver roughly four million vaccine doses by the end of the year to countries, using doses that have been newly manufactured since May, Chaplin said.
According to a Reuters tally of government statements, there are 1.5 million vials of vaccine that have either been administered or currently available in the 10 worst-affected countries, which account for nearly 90 per cent of all cases. The vast majority of doses are in the US.
The WHO estimates 10 million doses will be needed globally to protect the people at highest risk, with a current focus on certain men who have sex with men and contacts of people infected.
Bavarian, which has raised its 2022 outlook six times since the outbreak started in May, said sales of its monkeypox vaccine – variously called Jynneos, Imvanex and Imvamune depending on geography – amounted to 117 million Danish crowns (US$15.65 million) in the second quarter. It also reiterated its full-year outlook on Wednesday.
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