Sodiq Ojuroungbe Danish pharmaceutical company, Bavarian Nordic has announced its intent to seek European approval for the use of its mpox vaccine in adolescents aged 12 to 17. This move comes in response to the World Health Organisation’s recent declaration of a global public health emergency due to the rapid spread of a more dangerous strain of mpox, known as Clade 1b. PUNCH Healthwise had earlier reported that WHO said the mpox surge in Africa was now a global public health emergency, sounding its highest possible alarm over the worsening situation.
The WHO called a meeting of experts to study the outbreak and make a recommendation to the UN health agency’s director-general Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus. “Today, the emergency committee met and advised me that in its view, the situation constitutes a public health emergency of international concern. I have accepted that advice.
This is something that should concern us all”, Tedros told a press conference. Currently, Bavarian Nordic’s mpox vaccine is approved only for individuals aged 18 and older. The company’s CEO, Paul Chaplin, emphasised the need to extend vaccine eligibility to younger populations.
“Children and adolescents are disproportionately affected by mpox in the ongoing outbreak in Africa, highlighting the importance and urgency to broaden the access to vaccines and therapies for this vulnerable population,” Chaplin noted in a statement. The company said it had presented the European Medicines Agenc.