SIGA Technologies Inc. will buy $26 million worth of the IV version of the antiviral drug TPOXX to combat the monkeypox outbreak in the country, the company announced Tuesday.
The drug company SIGA is expected to deliver their product in 2023. According to the company, the IV version is a necessary option for those who are unable to swallow the pill, particularly since monkeypox can cause rashes and blisters in the mouth.
A contract as well as funding of a study on IV TPOXX, highlight the growing importance of a broad-based response to the substantial risks posed by the orthopox family of viruses, including smallpox and monkeypox, Phil Gomez, PhD, CEO of SIGA, said in the statement.
“We will keep in touch with the U.S. government regarding future deals involving oral TPOXX and IV TPOXX,” he said.
Though oral and IV versions of TPOXX are FDA-approved for treatment of smallpox, the topical version of the medication isn’t approved for monkeypox according to Reuters. It does seem like the CDC provided direction for use as an experimental drug.
Reuters reported that SIGA has received orders for the oral drug from a variety of international regions, including Canada and Europe.
There are almost 32,000 monkeypox cases reported in more than 80 countries where the disease is uncommon, according to CDC data.
Nearly 9,500 monkeypox cases have been reported in the U.S., followed by Spain with more than 5,000, Germany with nearly 3,000, and the U.K. with more than 2,900. There have been more than 2,000 cases in France and Brazil, and there have been less than 1,000 in the remaining countries.
Out of the nearly 2,000 cases in the U.S., New York has the most, according to the latest CDC data. Thus far, California has seen 1,300 cases, Florida has seen 976 cases, and Georgia, Texas, and Illinois have seen more than 700 cases. There have been fewer than 300 cases reported by the rest of the states, while Wyoming is the only one that hasn’t reported any cases.
