DM Monitoring
BERLIN: The European Commission approved Bavarian Nordic’s Imvanex vaccine which protects against smallpox for use against monkeypox in the EU, the Danish biotech company said on Monday.
Bavarian Nordic said the approval came after “a positive opinion” from the Committee for Medicinal Products for Human Use (CHMP) last week and is valid in all EU member states.
“The availability of an approved vaccine can significantly improve nations’ readiness to fight emerging diseases, but only through investments and structured planning of the biological preparedness,” Bavarian Nordic’s Chief Executive Paul Chaplin said.
The announcement comes a day after the World Health Organization (WHO) declared the monkeypox outbreak a global health emergency.
Chaplin told media that the company was also in talks to potentially grow production capacity and could meet demand for the monkeypox vaccine in the tens of millions.
Imvanex is the only vaccine to have been granted approval for the prevention of monkeypox in the United States and Canada and had previously only been approved for use in the treatment of smallpox.
According to Bavarian Nordic, its jab is a “non-replicating smallpox vaccine” which was developed in collaboration with the US government.
“The development of IMVANEX was made possible through significant investments from the US government for the past two decades,” the company said.
Bavarian Nordic’s share price has risen by 122% over the past three months, driven by strong demand for a vaccine to combat monkeypox.
The disease as long been endemic in West and Central Africa but spread to countries around the world starting in May this year.
Since then, over 15,300 cases in 75 countries have been confirmed in laboratories, according to the WHO. The current outbreak is centered in Europe.
According to the WHO, those who contract monkeypox report having high fever, an intense headache and swelling of the lymph nodes, as well as back pain and muscle aches. A skin rash and lesions usually appears 1 to 3 days after the appearance of a fever. The rash most commonly breaks out on the face but can also appear on the palms of hands and soles of the feet.
Most people recover within weeks without requiring medical attention. Monkeypox is similar tosmallpox but is less dangerous and less contagious.
The Border and Health Services Pakistan has been strictly monitoring the entry routes to the country after the World Health Organisation (WHO) officially declared the monkeypox outbreak an international public health emergency, the Ministry of National Health Services said.
Minister for Health Abdul Qadir Patel instructed the federal and provincial authorities to take necessary steps to barricade the outbreak of the disease in the country, the ministry said in a statement.
The entry points of Pakistan are getting monitored on scientific grounds, especially the screening of passengers coming from African countries is being under strict implementation, according to the health minister.
The health ministry said that no case of monkeypox has so far been reported in the South Asian country.
Patel said that the government has ensured the implementation of International Health Regulations in the country, adding that the preventive guidelines of the WHO are being strongly followed.
“Concrete steps are being taken for the capacity building of the health workers,” said the minister.
