By Dean Seal

Bavarian Nordic A/S said Friday that the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services has ordered an additional 2.5 million doses of the liquid-frozen form of its monkeypox vaccine.

The Denmark-based company said deliveries of its vaccine, known as Jynneos in the U.S., under this contract will start in the fourth quarter of 2022 and continue through early next year.

The U.S. Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority, a branch of the Health and Human Services Department, already ordered half a million doses of the vaccine a few weeks ago in response to reports of a monkeypox outbreak.

Combined with the government's previous order for 1.4 million doses in 2020, a total of 4.4 million doses will be delivered in 2022 and 2023, Bavarian Nordic said.

Jynneos is the only vaccine that currently has regulatory approval in the U.S. for use against monkeypox.

The doses sent to the U.S. will be made from already manufactured bulk vaccine, which also will be used to make a freeze-dried version of Jynneos pending approval from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration.

U.S. health officials said this week that they would expand their efforts to curb the spread of monkeypox, a viral disease that has been confirmed in more than 300 people around the country. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommends vaccines for people with presumed exposure to monkeypox, and not just confirmed exposure.

Write to Dean Seal at dean.seal@wsj.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

July 01, 2022 10:56 ET (14:56 GMT)

Copyright (c) 2022 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.