Politico Pulse: Addressing Monkeypox Antiviral Shortages

June 23, 2022

As monkeypox cases continue to spring up across the world, nations are seeking to stock up on the antiviral tecovirimat. The drug’s manufacturer Siga is currently in talks with the Biden administration regarding expanding their facilities to ramp up output. Tecovirimat is not currently approved for monkeypox in the US, but patients are receiving it as an investigational new drug.

According to Politico, “The drug’s global supply is relatively small at this point and only known to be stockpiled in two countries: the U.S. and Canada. The U.S. signed a contract with Siga years ago to maintain 1.7 million courses in its reserves, and the Department of Defense recently purchased $7.5 million of the drug. Canada planned to store 50,000 courses in its stockpile when it was first set up in 2019.”

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(Source: Politico, June 23rd, 2022)

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