Shares of Danish vaccine developer Bavarian Nordic A/S and other medical product makers surged following the World Health Organization’s declaration of a fast-spreading mpox outbreak in Africa as a global health emergency.
Bavarian Nordic, known for its approved mpox vaccine, experienced a remarkable 17% surge in Denmark, reaching its highest intraday level since November 2022. Meanwhile, Precision System Science Co., a medical tools supplier in Japan, saw a surge of up to 39%, and Shanghai ZJ Bio-Tech Co., a virus detection kit maker in China, gained as much as 8.4%.
CEO Paul Chaplin of Bavarian Nordic stated that the company could supply 10 million doses of its vaccine to African countries by the end of 2025, with approximately 300,000 doses available for immediate shipment.
In Asia, health-care stocks have regained investor interest as Covid cases rise in parts of the region. The mpox outbreak has added complexity to their assessment of how sector players will respond to the escalating demand.
Manish Bhargava, a fund manager at Straits Investment Holdings in Singapore, noted that the emergence of the mpox virus in Africa could draw parallels to the Covid-19 pandemic. Investors are advised to remain vigilant and await further data before making significant investment decisions.
The mutated strain of mpox has spread to at least six African countries, infecting over 15,000 people and claiming more than 500 lives in the Democratic Republic of Congo this year. This variant was first identified less than a year ago in the DRC.
Chinese companies specializing in virus detection products have also captured attention. Shares of Daan Gene Co., a Guangzhou-based firm developing diagnostic kits, and Assure Tech Hangzhou Co., a producer of rapid test devices, rose significantly, outperforming the benchmark CSI 300 index.
Tony Ren, head of Asia healthcare research at Macquarie Capital, suggested that the market response to the outbreak might be short-lived. He anticipates limited impact on the sector and does not expect the WHO declaration to have a significant effect on biopharma or the broader economy.
