U.S. to Buy up to $10.7 Million of Monkeypox Treatment

The U.S. Department of Defense (DoD) has awarded a contract to SIGA Technologies to purchase up to $10.7 million of oral Tpoxx (tecovirimat), a treatment for monkeypox and smallpox.

“We are pleased to continue our growing relationship with DoD, which encompasses, among other things, providing oral Tpoxx to support the fight against orthopoxvirus risks such as smallpox and monkeypox and working closely with DoD on the continued development of the PEP indication for oral Tpoxx,” Phil Gomez, Ph.D., CEO of SIGA, said in a statement.

SIGA said $5.1 million of oral Tpoxx is targeted for delivery in 2022 and the remainder is subject to an option at the sole discretion of the DoD.

The Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority (BARDA), part of the office of the Administration for Strategic Preparedness and Response at the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) also said earlier this year it would buy $26 million worth of SIGA Technologies' IV TPoxx treatment courses. The IV form is an important option for those who are unable to swallow, SIGA said in a statement.

Additionally, SIGA has been collaborating with the DoD’s Joint Program Executive Office for Chemical, Biological, Radiological and Nuclear Defense (JPEO-CBRND) to develop the post-exposure prophylaxis indication for oral Tpoxx, and this work is supported by a separate development contract worth about $26 million.

Meanwhile, in August 2022, the FDA issued an emergency use authorization (EUA) for Bavarian Nordic’s Jynneos monkeypox vaccine intradermal injection for people, including those under the age of 18, who are at high risk for monkeypox infection. This will increase the total number of doses available by up to five-fold, FDA said in a news release.

Jynneos, the modified vaccinia ankara (MVA) vaccine, was approved as a subcutanous injection in 2019 for prevention of smallpox and monkeypox disease in adults 18 years of age and older determined to be at high risk for smallpox or monkeypox infection.