Monkeypox vaccines to be finished at west Michigan company

Christina Hall, Detroit Free Press
·2 min read
3

A west Michigan company will be filling and finishing Jynneos vaccines that are being administered in the monkeypox outbreak after it entered into an agreement with the Denmark-based vaccine company.

Grand River Aseptic Manufacturing will complete the vaccine manufacturing for Bavarian Nordic to fill and finish the vaccines, expediting deliveries in the U.S. and freeing up capacity for other countries, according to announcements by both companies.

Bavarian Nordic received an additional order for 2.5 million doses of the vaccine from the U.S. Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority last month, which will be filled at the Michigan site using bulk vaccine already manufactured and invoiced under previous contracts with the U.S. authority, according to the company's release.

Christine Diatto, 51, of Berkley, is a public health nurse at the Oakland County Health Division in Pontiac and holds up a vial of the monkeypox and smallpox vaccine on Thursday, Aug. 11, 2022.
Christine Diatto, 51, of Berkley, is a public health nurse at the Oakland County Health Division in Pontiac and holds up a vial of the monkeypox and smallpox vaccine on Thursday, Aug. 11, 2022.

The tech transfer of the production process has been initiated. The aim is to complete that transfer within three months, allowing the Michigan company to start manufacturing later this year, Bavarian Nordic said.

The Michigan company also worked with the federal government to accelerate the manufacturing of the Johnson & Johnson COVID-19 vaccines. Tom Ross, president and CEO of the Grand Rapids-based company, said in a release it is putting forth "all efforts possible to accelerate the manufacturing of the (monkeypox) vaccine.”

More: Michigan monkeypox cases quadruple in 3 weeks as vaccine rules change, access improves

More: Listen to the 'On The Line' podcast: Monkeypox, the other outbreak

This week, the company announced completion of the installation of two new fill lines, saying it has three fill lines available and triple the capacity. It will dedicate one fill line and associated manufacturing staff to produce as much of the monkeypox vaccine as needed. The company said production of other client products will not be impacted.

Michigan currently has 126 monkeypox cases and has received about 8,800 vials of the Jynneos vaccine, according the state health department. The United States has recorded more than 14,000 cases, with more than 41,000 cases globally, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Staff writer Kristen Jordan Shamus contributed to this report.

Contact Christina Hall: chall@freepress.com. Follow her on Twitter: @challreporter.

Support local journalism. Subscribe to the Free Press.

This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Monkeypox vaccines to be finished at west Michigan company