Janssen Discontinues Collaboration and License Agreements with Bavarian Nordic in Hepatitis B and Human Papillomavirus

The Janssen Pharmaceutical Companies of Johnson & Johnson today announced the termination of its collaboration and license agreements with Bavarian Nordic that leverage Bavarian Nordic’s MVA-BN^® (Modified Vaccinia Ankara – Bavarian Nordic) technology to develop potential vaccines against the hepatitis B virus and human papillomaviruses. Janssen remains committed to its strong collaboration with Bavarian Nordic in the quest to prevent and cure infectious diseases – with collaborations in HIV and Ebola still ongoing.

No clinical studies in hepatitis B have been initiated by Janssen utilizing the MVA-BN^® technology.

Janssen will continue to prioritize investigation of its hepatitis B combination therapies using alternative investigational vaccine platforms and therapeutics within its broad portfolio and has multiple studies ongoing. Hepatitis B remains a critical global health issue, affecting an estimated 296 million people worldwide, and claiming nearly 900,000 lives every year.[1] Through its diverse scientific approach, Janssen is determined in its pursuit of a functional cure* for chronic hepatitis B to improve health outcomes for those living with the disease.

There has been widespread uptake of effective, preventive vaccines against human papillomaviruses.^[2] Due to this and the prioritization of other programs, Janssen will not be focusing R&D efforts on a therapeutic vaccine against human papillomaviruses at this time.

Janssen is committed to the research and development of transformational vaccines and therapeutics to prevent and cure infectious diseases with high unmet need. Janssen’s infectious diseases and vaccines projects span all stages of development, from discovery through late development, addressing major global health threats including COVID-19, HIV, RSV, influenza, multi-drug resistant bacterial infections and Ebola.