Smallpox drugmakers get new orders as monkeypox spreads
More than 3,000 confirmed cases of monkeypox have been reported from 40 countries where the disease is not endemic
Smallpox medicine makers Siga Technologies and Chimerix said yesterday they had received new orders for their anti-viral drugs that are expected to be used as monkeypox treatments amid a global rise in infections.
More than 3,000 confirmed cases of monkeypox – which belongs to the family of orthopoxvirus that includes smallpox and cowpox – have been reported from 40 countries where the disease is not endemic.
Siga received orders worth about $13 million for its oral smallpox drug, Tpoxx, and Chimerix got an order worth $9.3 million for its drug Tembexa.
Chimerix, which in May agreed to sell the rights of the drug to Emergent BioSolutions, said yesterday the contract for new orders is expected to be completed before the sale goes through.
Siga’s drug, Tpoxx, is approved in the European Union (EU) to treat diseases including smallpox, monkeypox and cowpox, while it is only approved to treat smallpox in the US and Canada.
“We expect a portion of the courses of oral Tpoxx delivered under these orders will be used for the treatment of active monkeypox cases,” Phil Gomez, Chief Executive Officer, Siga, said.
Edits by EP News Bureau
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