Bavarian Nordic A/S has been awarded a subcontract from Crucell Holland B.V., one of Janssen Pharmaceutical Companies of Johnson & Johnson, valued at $9 million. This is part of a contract awarded to Janssen by the U.S. Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority (BARDA) to support the advanced development and manufacturing of the Ebola prime-boost vaccine regimen, which consists of Bavarian Nordic’s MVA-BN Filo and Ad26.ZEBOV from Janssen.

The five-year base subcontract covers studies to improve the manufacturing process and establish long-term storage of MVA-BN Filo bulk vaccine. The contract also includes options for an additional $24 million to implement process development activities for formulation of a final drug product with a longer shelf life.

As part of an accelerated development program, Janssen has initiated multiple clinical studies of the prime-boost Ebola vaccine regimen in Europe and Africa. By awarding a contract to Janssen, BARDA is prioritizing the rapid development of this promising vaccine regimen candidate. To date, Bavarian Nordic has produced and delivered the bulk equivalent of over one million doses of its vaccine.

“We are very pleased to strengthen our collaboration with Janssen on the accelerated development of the prime-boost Ebola vaccine regimen,” said Paul Chaplin, president and chief executive officer, Bavarian Nordic. “More importantly, it is encouraging that the U.S. Government, through BARDA, with whom we have worked for over a decade, recognizes the potential of this vaccine to build international preparedness for current and future Ebola outbreaks.”