SII to develop Mpox vaccine within a year
Serum Institute of India (SII) Pune on Tuesday said it is currently working to develop a vaccine for Mpox with positive outcomes expected in a year’s time
PUNE: India has increased vigilance after the World Health Organisation (WHO) declared Monkeypox (Mpox) a global health emergency. Whereas the Serum Institute of India (SII) Pune on Tuesday said it is currently working to develop a vaccine for Mpox with positive outcomes expected in a year’s time.
Adar Poonawalla, CEO, SII Pune, said, “In view of the global health emergency declared due to the Mpox outbreak, the SII is currently working on developing a vaccine for this disease to cater to millions of lives that might be at risk. Hopefully, with the ongoing progress, we will have more updates and positive news to share within a year’s time.”
Mpox is a viral disease caused by the Mpox virus, a species of the genus Orthopoxvirus. Two different clades exist: clade 1 and clade 2. The common symptoms of Mpox are skin rash or mucosal lesions that can last two to four weeks accompanied by fever, headache, muscle ache, back pain, low energy and swollen lymph nodes. Mpox can be transmitted to humans through physical contact with infected humans or infected animals. Laboratory confirmation of Mpox is carried out by testing skin lesion material by polymerase chain reaction (PCR), said officials.
Earlier in July 2022, the WHO had declared Mpox a public health emergency of international concern (PHEIC). Subsequently in May 2023, the WHO had revoked the same. Globally since 2022, the WHO has reported 99,176 cases and 208 deaths across 116 countries due to Mpox. Since the 2022 declaration by the WHO, a total 30 cases have been detected in India with the last case detected as recently as March 2024.
This year, the cause for concern is the current strain of the Mpox virus circulating in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DCR) or clade 1b. This is a highly virulent strain with a claimed death rate of 3% as opposed to a death rate of 0.1% seen in other strains of Mpox. However, health experts in the DRC say that the mortality rate from the strain clade 1b can be as high as 10% among children.
Earlier in July 2022, the National Institute of Virology (NIV) Pune under the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) had isolated the Mpox virus from the clinical specimen of a patient to develop diagnostic kits and vaccines against the disease. The ICMR had reportedly selected six pharmaceutical companies to make Mpox vaccines including SII, Biological E, Dr Reddy’s Laboratories, Hester Bioscience Ltd, Indian Immunologicals Ltd, and Reliance Life Sciences.
According to officials, the Modified Vaccinia Ankara-Bavarian Nordic (MVA-BN) is currently the only vaccine approved for use against smallpox (Mpox) across the EU/EEA, United Kingdom, United States, Switzerland and Canada. Additionally, the WHO has listed two more vaccines approved by different regulatory agencies for the prevention of smallpox.
During the 2022 Mpox outbreak, Japan approved the smallpox vaccine LC16; and Russia licensed OrthopoxVac for immunisation against smallpox, Mpox, and other orthopoxviruses. In the United States and Australia, ACAM2000, a vaccine containing a live vaccinia virus, is recommended for individuals at risk of exposure to Orthopoxvirus infections.