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Bavarian Nordic to Ramp up Production of Mpox Vaccine

An employee of the vaccine company Bavarian Nordic works in a laboratory of the company in Martinsried near Munich, Germany, May 24, 2022. REUTERS/Lukas Barth/File Photo Purchase Licensing Rights
An employee of the vaccine company Bavarian Nordic works in a laboratory of the company in Martinsried near Munich, Germany, May 24, 2022. REUTERS/Lukas Barth/File Photo Purchase Licensing Rights
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Bavarian Nordic to Ramp up Production of Mpox Vaccine

An employee of the vaccine company Bavarian Nordic works in a laboratory of the company in Martinsried near Munich, Germany, May 24, 2022. REUTERS/Lukas Barth/File Photo Purchase Licensing Rights
An employee of the vaccine company Bavarian Nordic works in a laboratory of the company in Martinsried near Munich, Germany, May 24, 2022. REUTERS/Lukas Barth/File Photo Purchase Licensing Rights

Danish biotech firm Bavarian Nordic said on Saturday it plans to ramp up production of its mpox vaccine and work with international health organizations to ensure fair access as the disease has been declared a global public health emergency.

The company, one of the few drug firms that have an mpox vaccine, said it has informed the Africa Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) that it can manufacture 10 million doses of the vaccine by the end of 2025, and could already supply up to 2 million doses this year.

The company said that it is expanding its production network to include Africa, and is prepared to work with Africa CDC as well as the World Health Organization (WHO) to make the vaccine accessible to all countries, Reuters reported.

Earlier this week, the WHO declared mpox a global public health emergency for the second time in two years.

The viral infection, which causes pus-filled lesions and flu-like symptoms, is usually mild but can kill. Two strains are now spreading in Congo and neighboring countries - the endemic form of the virus, clade I, and a new offshoot called clade Ib.

There have been 27,000 cases and more than 1,100 deaths, mainly among children, in Congo since the current outbreak began in January 2023.

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Varieties

Götz Valien: The Last Dinosaur in the Movie Poster Industry

Götz Valien (Getty)
Götz Valien (Getty)
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Götz Valien: The Last Dinosaur in the Movie Poster Industry

Götz Valien (Getty)
Götz Valien (Getty)

In a digital age, Götz Valien is Berlin’s last movie poster artist, producing giant hand-painted film adverts.

For more than three decades, Austrian-born Valien, 65, earns a modest living producing film posters to hang at the city’s most beloved historic cinemas, a craft he says will probably die with him, at least in western Europe.

He adds a distinctive pop art flourish to each image coupled with the beauty of imperfection, part of the reason he has managed to extend his career well into the 21st century, according to an article published by The Guardian.

“Advertising is about drawing attention and I add the human touch, which is why it works,” he told the newspaper.

Valien’s work plays up the image’s essence: the imposing bow of a ship, the haunting eyes of a screen siren, a mysterious smile. He jokingly calls himself a Kinosaurier – a play on the German words for cinema and dinosaur.

His nearly-7x9-meter canvases long-graced the “film palaces” of the German capital, including the majestic Delphi in the west and the socialist modernist masterpiece Kino International on Karl Marx Allee in the east.

But the former’s adverts finally went digital in 2024, while the latter is closed for a years-long, top-to-bottom revamp. Dozens of independent cinemas among his clients have simply gone out of business.

The century-old Filmtheater am Friedrichshain (FaF) is the last movie theater in Berlin still employing Valien to tout its new releases, with his large-format posters covering its facade and interior walls around the ticket-and-popcorn counter.

Movie posters have existed as long as the nearly 130-year-old film industry.

But these days, few releases stay long enough in cinemas to justify bespoke art to advertise them, communications studies professor Patrick Rössler of the University of Erfurt, who has studied the history of film posters, told local media. And most independent cinemas don’t have the profit margins to afford them, even at what Valien calls his bargain-basement prices.