Copenhagen-based Bavarian Nordic tapped into its global ambitions when it picked Big Pharma veteran Tarja Stenvall as its next CEO. She’ll step into the role in mid-October as the vaccine specialist ramps up the global rollout of its chikungunya virus vaccine, Vimkunya, and sharpens its travel vaccine market focus.
Stenvall, who’s held senior leadership roles at Sanofi, AstraZeneca and Pfizer, takes the reins of a company that’s weathered ups and downs. In recent years, the company has notched key regulatory wins, including approvals for Vimkunya and Jynneos, the first and only FDA-approved non-replicating vaccine for both smallpox and mpox. But Bavarian Nordic has also suffered major setbacks, including a phase 3 miss that caused the company to discontinue its RSV program in 2023. And although its COVID-19 booster shot hit the mark in a late-stage trial, the company decided not to seek approval because it couldn't be adapted for emerging variants in 2023.
Additionally, her appointment follows a turbulent year that included a failed $3 billion take-private bid, a board shakeup, and the resignation of longtime CEO Paul Chaplin.
Yet, Bavarian Nordic has also built a “strong foundation,” Stenvall said in a statement. In particular, Stenvall plans to lean into the “the global impact of Bavarian Nordic's vaccines while continuing to strengthen the company's position as a leading global vaccine company.”
It won’t be Stenvall’s first rodeo working on pharma’s global stage.
As vice president for vaccines in Latin America at Sanofi, Stenvall secured a large global private-public partnership with the Mexican government, according to her LinkedIn. She was also a member of Sanofi’s global business unit leadership team and the Global Sanofi Sustainability Impact Committee. Most recently, she served as Sanofi’s senior vice president and head of global franchise for diabetes and cardiovascular diseases.
Bavarian’s strategic shifts
Bavarian Nordic has been in the midst of a strategic shift from operating as a small, research-based firm reliant on hard-to-predict government contracts into a company with a global presence.
The pivot was intentional, Chaplin told PharmaVoice in 2023. To build what he called a “more traditional, commercial global infrastructure,” Bavarian Nordic added a roster of travel health vaccines to its portfolio from other companies, starting with GSK’s vaccines for rabies and tick-borne encephalitis in 2019.
In 2023, it snapped up Emergent BioSolutions’ travel vaccine portfolio in a deal that included marketed vaccines for typhoid fever and cholera, as well as the phase 3 candidate that would become Vimkunya. The acquisition also expanded Bavarian Nordic’s operational footprint by including U.S.-based research and development facilities, a Swiss-based biologics manufacturing facility and EU/U.S.-based commercial operations with a specialty salesforce, the company said.
Now, that travel portfolio is helping to lift Bavarian Nordic’s financial performance. Revenue from its travel health products jumped 45% in the second quarter — contributing to an overall 23% rise in company revenue. Its public preparedness revenue also increased 6% during that period, “driven by a stronger-than-expected contract base in 2026,” the company said.
Ushering in the ‘next chapter’
While Bavarian Nordic gears up for its next era, Stenvall is entering a company that’s already laid the groundwork to scale production.
Earlier this year, the company inked a deal with the Serum Institute of India for a full tech transfer of the chikungunya vaccine manufacturing process, allowing for capacity scaling and enabling future supply to endemic low- and middle-income countries.
The company secured FDA approval for an easier-to-store freeze-dried formulation of its smallpox vaccine, Jynneos, which led to a $97 million stock-up option from the Center for the Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority.
Bavarian Nordic also maintains a strong grip on the mpox market with Jynneos — the only other FDA-approved option carries harsher side effects. But BioNTech and Moderna are nipping at its heels with mRNA-based candidates in mid-stage trials.
The FDA also granted supplemental approval for Vimkunya in April allowing drug substance optimization and bulk drug product manufacturing, which will help Bavarian Nordic ramp up production.
The company is racking up additional global approvals for its vaccines, too, including Canadian and European approval for Vimkunya, and expanded European approval for Imvanex.
Bavarian Nordic’s handful of pipeline products include a phase 2 equine encephalitis vaccine program funded by the U.S. Department of Defense and preclinical programs for Epstein-Barr Virus and Lyme disease vaccines. But the company has capped its R&D spending for 2026, it said in its most recent annual report, and will focus on prioritizing “life-cycle management of the commercial portfolio.”
Now, it will be up to Stenvall to see that plan through.
