Monkeypox-Siga solicited in Europe for its smallpox treatment | Photo credits: Frontpage / Shutterstock.com
by Manas Mishra
May 19 (Reuters) – The pharmaceutical group Siga Technologies has been asked for orders for its smallpox drug TPOXX® (tecovirimat) in the face of a possible outbreak of monkeypox, which is spreading concern in Europe.
Confirmed or suspected cases of monkeypox have been reported in Great Britain, Portugal, Spain, Italy, and the United States.
This disease (“monkeypox”) is transmitted to humans through contact with wild animals, rodents or primates. But it is potential human-to-human transmissions, usually rare, that alert the experts.
“As you can imagine with the epidemic in Europe, we have received requests and we are responding to them as we can. We are engaged with our colleagues in Europe to find the best way to meet these expectations,” said to Reuters the general manager of Siga Phil Gomez, without further details on these requests.
There have been no deliveries yet, but the company says it is “well positioned” in terms of supply.
Governments have stockpiled the drug, approved to treat human smallpox in the United States, but also in Europe for the orthopoxvirus family that includes monkeypox and cowpox.
Shares of New York-based Siga rose 19% on Thursday, as did shares of other smallpox vaccine and drug developers.
This is the case of the Danish drugmaker Bavarian Nordic, which said on Thursday that it had obtained a contract with a European country – whose name has not been revealed – to supply its Imvanex vaccine. (French version Dina Kartit, edited by Sophie Louet)