As the number of monkeypox cases continue to rise around the world, the only company that manufactures an approved vaccine is warning that it may not be able to meet the high demand.
“It’s a very dynamic market situation,” Bavarian Nordic Vice President Rolf Sass Sorensen told Bloomberg. “Demand keeps rising, and it’s no longer certain that we can continue to meet the demand we’re facing even with the upgrade of our existing manufacturing site in Denmark.”
To increase production, the pharmaceutical company said it is considering plans to outsource some of its production to the United States. The company is looking into a technology transfer that would allow producers in the U.S. to make the vaccine from scratch.
“We’re looking at ways to get help from partners in all the various production steps of the vaccine,” Sorensen said. “We are also investigating a tech transfer to a contract manufacturer in the U.S. to increase capacity."
As of August 16, there have been 12,689 confirmed cases of monkeypox in the U.S., according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. New York has reported the most cases in the country with 2,620, following California with 1,945.
The U.S. also has more cases than any other country in the world. Spain ranks second with 5,719 cases.