Modern Twist To Centuries-Old Smallpox Vaccine Could Be Poised To Combat Deadly Mpox Strain As WHO Declares Global Emergency

Following an upsurge of cases in the Democratic Republic of the Congo and several other countries in Africa, the World Health Organization (WHO) declared mpox a public health emergency of international concern on Aug. 14 – the second such declaration in two years. The WHO has called on vaccine manufacturers to step up efforts to curb the spread of a new, more deadly strain of the virus.The WHO also is asking companies and organizations to bring in their vaccines, inviting developers of mpox vaccines to submit an Expression of Interest for Emergency Use Listing (EUL).Amid this backdrop, Tonix Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:TNXP) is developing a vaccine candidate, called TNX-801, that could play a role in combating this escalating global health crisis. Tonix has successfully completed non-human primate studies showing protection from the challenge with lethal doses of the Clade 1 monkeypox virus that is driving the new epidemic. Clearly, more testing is ahead for TNX-801, but the technology behind it is rooted in the science of Edward Jenner's smallpox vaccine of the late 1700s, the only vaccine to successfully eradicate a contagious viral pathogen.These credentials have earned the vaccine technology platform upon which TNX-801 is based a competitive spot in the NIH's NextGen program for a more effective, single-dose COVID-19 vaccine to potentially provide durable protection instead of the every six-month booster strategy of mRNA vaccines. Last month, another of Tonix's technologies was awarded a contract for up to $34 million by the U.S. Department of Defense to ...Full story available on Benzinga.com

Following an upsurge of cases in the Democratic Republic of the Congo and several other countries in Africa, the World Health Organization (WHO) declared mpox a public health emergency of international concern on Aug. 14 – the second such declaration in two years. The WHO has called on vaccine manufacturers to step up efforts to curb the spread of a new, more deadly strain of the virus.

The WHO also is asking companies and organizations to bring in their vaccines, inviting developers of mpox vaccines to submit an Expression of Interest for Emergency Use Listing (EUL). Amid this backdrop, Tonix Pharmaceuticals TNXP is developing a vaccine candidate, called TNX-801, that could play a role in combating this escalating global health crisis. Tonix has successfully completed non-human primate studies showing protection from the challenge with lethal doses of the Clade 1 monkeypox virus that is driving the new epidemic.

Clearly, more testing is ahead for TNX-801, but the technology behind it is rooted in the science of Edward Jenner's smallpox vaccine of the late 1700s, the only vaccine to successfully eradicate a contagious viral pathogen. These credentials have earned the vaccine technology platform upon which TNX-801 is based a competitive spot in the NIH's NextGen program for a more effective, single-dose COVID-19 vaccine to potentially provide durable protection instead of the every six-month booster strategy of mRNA vaccines. Last month, another of Tonix's technologies was a.