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NIH Study Finds Tecovirimat Was Safe but Did Not Improve Mpox Resolution or Pain

December 10, 2024

Tecovirimat was safe but did not reduce the time to lesion resolution or reduce pain among adults with mild to moderate clade II mpox and a low risk of severe disease in an international study.

Mpox Vaccine Is Safe and Generates a Robust Antibody Response in Adolescents

October 16, 2024

A clinical trial of an mpox vaccine in adolescents found it was safe and generated an antibody response equivalent to that seen in adults. Results were presented at IDWeek2024.

NIH Releases Mpox Research Agenda

September 17, 2024

The NIAID mpox research agenda focuses on four key objectives: increasing knowledge about the biology of all clades—also known as strains—of the virus that causes mpox, including how the virus is transmitted and how people’s immune systems respond to it; evaluating dosing regimens of current vaccines to stretch the vaccine supply and developing novel vaccine concepts; advancing existing and novel treatments, including antivirals and monoclonal antibodies; and supporting strategies for detecting the virus to facilitate clinical care and epidemiological surveillance.

The Antiviral Tecovirimat is Safe but Did Not Improve Clade I Mpox Resolution in Democratic Republic of the Congo

August 15, 2024

The antiviral drug tecovirimat did not reduce the duration of mpox lesions among children and adults with clade I mpox in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), based on an initial analysis of data from a randomized, placebo-controlled trial. However, the study’s 1.7% overall mortality among enrollees, regardless of whether they received the drug or not, was much lower than the mpox mortality of 3.6% or higher reported among all cases in the DRC. This shows that better outcomes among people with mpox can be achieved when they are hospitalized and provided high-quality supportive care.

Lower Dose of Mpox Vaccine Is Safe and Generates Six-Week Antibody Response Equivalent to Standard Regimen

April 27, 2024

A dose-sparing intradermal mpox vaccination regimen was safe and generated an antibody response equivalent to that induced by the standard regimen at six weeks (two weeks after the second dose), according to findings presented today at the European Society of Clinical Microbiology and Infectious Diseases Global Congress in Barcelona. The results suggest that antibody responses contributed to the effectiveness of dose-sparing mpox vaccine regimens used during the 2022 U.S. outbreak.

NIH Scientists Develop Mouse Model to Study Mpox Virulence

February 14, 2023

Scientists from the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), part of the National Institutes of Health, have removed a major roadblock to better understanding of mpox (formerly, monkeypox). They developed a mouse model of the disease and used it to demonstrate clear differences in virulence among the major genetic groups (clades) of mpox virus (MPXV). The research, appearing in Proceedings of the National Academy of Science, was led by Bernard Moss, M.D., Ph.D., chief of the Genetic Engineering Section of NIAID’s Laboratory of Viral Diseases.

Monkeypox Treatment Trial Begins in the Democratic Republic of the Congo

October 12, 2022

A clinical trial to evaluate the antiviral drug tecovirimat, also known as TPOXX, in adults and children with monkeypox has begun in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC). The trial will evaluate the drug’s safety and its ability to mitigate monkeypox symptoms and prevent serious outcomes, including death. NIAID and the DRC’s National Institute for Biomedical Research (INRB) are co-leading the trial as part of the government-to-government PALM partnership. Collaborating institutions include the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the Institute of Tropical Medicine Antwerp, the aid organization Alliance for International Medical Action (ALIMA) and the World Health Organization (WHO).

U.S. Clinical Trial Evaluating Antiviral for Monkeypox Begins

September 9, 2022

A Phase 3 clinical trial evaluating the antiviral tecovirimat, also known as TPOXX, is now enrolling adults and children with monkeypox infection in the United States. Study investigators aim to enroll more than 500 people from clinical research sites nationwide. Interested volunteers can visit the ACTG website (clinical trial A5418) for more information. The NIAID-funded Advancing Clinical Therapeutics Globally for HIV/AIDS and Other Infections (ACTG) is leading the study, which may later expand to international sites. The Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD) at NIH is supporting several sites, including through the International Maternal Pediatric Adolescent AIDS Clinical Trials Network (IMPAACT).

Clinical Trial Evaluating Monkeypox Vaccine Begins

September 8, 2022

A clinical trial evaluating alternative strategies for administering the JYNNEOS monkeypox vaccine to increase the number of available doses has begun enrolling adult volunteers. The trial, which will enroll more than 200 adults across eight U.S. research sites, is sponsored by the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), part of the National Institutes of Health. JYNNEOS is manufactured by Bavarian Nordic, based in Copenhagen. It is approved by the U.S.

NIH Experts Review Monkeypox Challenges

August 24, 2022

Lessons learned from the public health responses to the HIV and COVID-19 pandemics should help guide the response to the current outbreak of monkeypox, National Institutes of Health experts write in an editorial published today in the New England Journal of Medicine. Anthony S. Fauci, M.D., director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), and H.