Imvanex’s approval comes after the World Health Organization declared monkeypox a global health emergency.
The European Union’s executive arm has approved a smallpox vaccine for smallpox after the World Health Organization (WHO) declared its spread a global health emergency, the Danish manufacturer that developed the vaccine said .
“The European Commission has extended the marketing authorization for the company’s smallpox vaccine, Imvanex, to include protection against monkeypox,” according to a recommendation from the medicines watchdog the EU, Bavarian Nordic said in a statement on Monday.
“The approval … is valid in all member states of the European Union, as well as in Iceland, Liechtenstein and Norway.”
The European Medicines Agency (EMA) carries out a scientific evaluation of medicines and makes a recommendation on whether a medicine should be marketed.
However, under EU law, the EMA does not have the authority to actually allow marketing in the bloc’s various countries. The European Commission is the authorizing body and makes a legally binding decision based on the EMA’s recommendation.
Bavaria’s share price has risen 122 percent in the past three months, boosted by strong demand for the monkeypox vaccine.
Chief executive Paul Chaplin said the availability of an approved vaccine “can significantly improve nations’ preparedness to fight emerging diseases, but only through investments and structured biological preparedness planning.”
On Saturday, the WHO declared the monkeypox outbreak, which has affected about 16,000 people in 75 countries, a “public health emergency of international concern,” the highest alarm the world health agency can sound. United Nations
Imvanex has been approved in the EU since 2013 for the prevention of smallpox.
It was also considered a potential vaccine for monkeypox because of the similarity between the monkeypox virus and the smallpox virus.
Monkeypox is less dangerous and contagious than smallpox, which was eradicated in 1980.
The first symptoms of monkey pox are fever, headache, muscle pain and backache for five days.
Later, rashes appear on the face, palms of the hands, and soles of the feet, followed by lesions, spots, and finally scabs.
An increase in monkeypox infections has been reported since early May outside West and Central African countries where the disease has long been endemic.