- The agreement enables a full tech transfer of the chikungunya vaccine for future supply to low- and middle-income countries.
- Expanded collaboration provides future co-development opportunities.
COPENHAGEN, Denmark, March 11, 2026 – Bavarian Nordic A/S (OMX: BAVA) today announced an expansion of the strategic partnership with Serum Institute of India Pvt. Ltd. (SII) to include a contract manufacturing agreement covering a full tech transfer of the manufacturing process for the chikungunya vaccine (CHIKV VLP) from Bavarian Nordic to SII to allow for scaling of capacity to enable future supply to endemic low- and middle-income countries (LMICs). This agreement builds on the existing mpox vaccine license and manufacturing agreement with SII, and replaces the agreement previously entered with Biological E. Limited.
In addition, through this expanded collaboration, the parties will explore potential future co-development opportunities.
“We are pleased to strengthen our strategic partnership with Serum Institute of India. By leveraging the strengths of both organizations, we can scale manufacturing of our chikungunya vaccine to expand global supply and improve access for populations around the globe,” said Paul Chaplin, President & CEO of Bavarian Nordic.
About CHIKV VLP
CHIKV VLP is a single dose, prefilled, adjuvanted VLP recombinant protein vaccine for active immunization for the prevention of disease caused by chikungunya virus (CHIKV) in individuals 12 years and older. It is designed to induce a robust seroresponse, with protective immunity starting to develop as early as 1 week after vaccination.
The vaccine does not contain viral genetic material and is therefore non-infectious and unable to cause disease, ensuring a broad range of people can benefit from vaccination.
CHIKV VLP (marketed as Vimkunya®) has been approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, the European Commission and the U.K. Medicines & Healthcare products Regulatory Agency in 2025. Regulatory review of the vaccine is ongoing in Switzerland and Canada.
About chikungunya
Chikungunya is a mosquito-borne disease caused by the chikungunya virus. In the past 20 years, the virus has emerged across several regions in Asia, Africa, and the Americas, including many popular travel destinations, often causing large unpredictable outbreaks. Since its discovery, chikungunya has been identified in more than 110 countries1. Chikungunya typically presents with acute symptoms, including fever, rash, fatigue, headache, and often severe and incapacitating joint pain. Most patients recover, but 30-40% of those affected may develop chronic symptoms that can last for months or even years2. In 2025, as of December, nearly 500,000 cases of chikungunya and over 200 associated deaths were reported worldwide3. More than half of the reported cases and associated deaths were reported from Brazil4. Recent data suggest that chikungunya is severely underreported and often misdiagnosed as dengue fever due to a similar symptom profile5.
About Bavarian Nordic
Bavarian Nordic is a global vaccine company with a mission to improve health and save lives through innovative vaccines. We are a preferred supplier of mpox and smallpox vaccines to governments to enhance public health preparedness and have a leading portfolio of travel vaccines. For more information, visit www.bavarian-nordic.com.
About Serum Institute of India
Serum Institute of India Pvt. Ltd. is the world’s largest vaccine manufacturer, developing life-saving vaccines against diseases including polio, measles, meningitis, rotavirus, diphtheria, tetanus, malaria, HPV, pneumonia, and COVID-19, with a mission to make affordable vaccines accessible worldwide. Present across 170+ countries, including the U.S., the UK, and Europe, SII operates one of the largest multifunctional vaccine production facilities in Manjri, Pune, with an annual capacity of 4 billion doses, contributing to saving over 30 million lives over the years. For more information, visit www.seruminstitute.com.
Contact investors:
Europe: Disa Tuominen, IR Manager, detu@bavarian-nordic.com
US: Graham Morrell, Gilmartin Group, graham@gilmartinir.com, Tel: +1 781 686 9600
Contact media:
Nicole Seroff, Vice President Corporate Communications, nise@bavarian-nordic.com, Tel: +45 53 88 06 03
1 World Health Organization (WHO). Chikungunya.https://www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/chikungunya
2 European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control. Chikungunya virus disease. https://www.ecdc.europa.eu/en/chikungunya-virus-disease.
3 European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control. Chikungunya virus disease worldwide overview. https://www.ecdc.europa.eu/en/chikungunya-monthly.
4 Pan American Health Organization (PAHO). Chikungunya: analysis by country. https://www.paho.org/en/arbo-portal/chikungunya-data-and-analysis/chikungunya-analysis-country
5 Ribas Freitas AR, Pinheiro Chagas AA, Siqueira AM, Pamplona de Góes Cavalcanti L. How much of the current serious arbovirus epidemic in Brazil is dengue and how much is chikungunya? Lancet Reg Health Am. 2024 Apr 30;34:100753. doi: 10.1016/j.lana.2024.100753. PMID: 38711542; PMCID: PMC11070701.
