Asia Tech Wire (Aug 19) -- Danish monkeypox vaccine maker Bavarian Nordic plans to boost supply to 10 million doses by the end of 2025, as per Reuters.

As one of only a handful of companies globally approved to produce Mpox vaccine, Bavarian Nordic said on Saturday it plans to increase its Mpox vaccine production capacity and expand vaccination coverage.

The Danish drugmaker said it has supplied as many as 2 million doses of the Mpox vaccine so far this year and plans to increase supply to 10 million doses by the end of next year.

Bavarian Nordic also said it is expanding its production network to Africa and is ready to work with the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention and the World Health Organization to make the vaccine available to all countries.

The Mpox vaccine mentioned by the company was originally developed to prevent infection with the smallpox virus. The World Health Organization previously estimated that this vaccine was 85% effective in preventing the monkeypox virus.

It is the only Mpox vaccine currently approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and the European Medicines Agency (EMA), and is currently only approved for use in adults over the age of 18.

Bavarian Nordic announced not long ago that it has submitted clinical data to the EMA seeking to expand the vaccine's indication to adolescents between the ages of 12 and 17.