New treatment offers additional option should smallpox ever be used as a bioweapon
MONDAY, July 16, 2018 (HealthDay News) — TPOXX (tecovirimat) has been approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration to treat smallpox.
Though the contagious and often-deadly viral disease was considered eradicated by the World Health Organization in 1980, there are concerns that smallpox could be used in a terrorist attack.
“To address the risk of bioterrorism, Congress has taken steps to enable the development and approval of countermeasures to thwart pathogens that could be employed as weapons,” FDA Commissioner Scott Gottlieb, M.D., said in an agency news release. “[The] approval provides an important milestone in these efforts. This new treatment affords us an additional option should smallpox ever be used as a bioweapon.”
Citing agency rules that allow drugs to be tested in animals when human testing isn’t ethical or feasible, TPOXX was evaluated in animals infected with germs that are closely related to smallpox, the FDA said. The drug’s safety was evaluated in 359 people who didn’t have a smallpox infection. The most common side effects among people included headache, nausea, and abdominal pain.
TPOXX is produced by SIGA Technologies, based in New York City.
Most Speakers at FDA Advisory Committee Meetings Support Drug Approval 
Countries Involved in U.S. Clinical Trials Do Not Gain Timely Access to Approved Medicines 
World Trade Center Toxic Exposure Tied to Higher Risk for Lung Cancer 
Long-Term Medication Adherence Tied to Lower Cardiovascular Event Rate in Type 2 Diabetes .jpg)
Once-Weekly Oral Islatravir-Lenacapavir Noninferior to Daily B/F/TAF in HIV 
28 Percent of U.S. Adults With HTN Eligible for Treatment Under New Guidelines 
Enfortumab Vedotin-Pembrolizumab More Effective for MIBC Than Cisplatin-Gemcitabine 
