India's SII working on mpox vaccine; will share positive news within a year, says CEO Poonawalla

The work on manufacturing mpox vaccine has already started in India by the Pune-based Serum Institute of India, or SII, and the results are expected within a year. Mpox has been spreading rapidly and has infected people in over 116 countries.

Covid-19 vaccine manufacturer, Pune-based Serum Institute of India (SII) CEO Adar Poonawalla said, “In view of the global health emergency declared due to mpox outbreak, Serum Institute of India is currently working on developing a vaccine for this disease to cater to millions of lives that might be at risk.”

“Hopefully, with the ongoing progress, we will have more updates and positive news to share within a year’s time,” Poonawalla further said.

A week ago, on August 14, the World Health Organisation (WHO) declared mpox or monkeypox outbreak as a “global health emergency” with Democratic Republic of Congo and neighbouring nations worst affected.

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When did the mpox outbreak start?

The mpox outbreak first started in 2022.

The decision to change the name of monkeypox to mpox was taken by the WHO in November 2023 following racist insinuations towards some communities.

As per the data collected from national authorities, there were a total of 99,176 confirmed mpox cases between January 1, 2022 to June 30, 2024 and the virus has claimed 208 lives during this period.

Is there a vaccine for mpox yet?

In 2022, during the first declared global health emergency of mpox, the MVA-BN vaccine, or the Modified Vaccinia Ankara-Bavarian Nordic, was approved for the use by the European Union (EU), United States, Canada and a few other nations.

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The other vaccine is Acam2000, which has been approved by the US Food and Drugs Administration (FDA) for protection against smallpox and mpox.

However, the vaccines which are currently available have failed to target the monkeypox virus.

Mpox is a viral infection caused by the monkeypox virus, which belongs to a genus of viruses called Orthopoxvirus.

As per reports, viruses from the Orthopoxvirus family (which consists of the variola virus that causes smallpox, the cowpox virus, and the vaccinia virus) are genetically similar and the vaccine developed to protect from other viruses can be used for mpox.

How does these mpox vaccines work?

The mpox vaccines currently available are follow a phenomenon which is called cross-reactivity that happens when different antigens appear similar to our immune system.

Putting in simple terms, there are viruses M, V and C from the Orthopoxvirus genus which are structurally similar. A vaccine that protects against virus C will also be able to tackle viruses M and V.

Antibodies produced by someone infected by the variola virus will also keep them protected against mpox virus.

Apart from vaccines, there is an antiviral drug tecovirimat, also known as TPOXX, which is being commonly used to treat mpox.

However, last week, the US National Institutes of Health (NIH) said that the medicine did not speed up healing for people in a clinical trial in DRC infected with the new strain of mpox.

Is there any case of mpox in India?

India, so far, has not reported any mpox case. However, the authorities have sounded an alarm over the rapidly rising cases of the virus across the world.

All the airports and land ports across the country have been put on alert. The Union Health Ministry has issued special instructions to all airports and land border officials to keep a vigil on all the arrivals.

Special surveillance has been ordered on land ports on borders with Pakistan and Bangladesh. The neighbouring Pakistan has detected three cases of mpox among residents of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. The patients had returned from the UAE.

The ministry has ordered that all in-bound passengers that show likely symptoms of mpox disease must be isolated.

Also, states have been asked to increase the surveillance in their jurisdiction.

Is India prepared to fight mpox?

The health ministry has designated three hospitals in Delhi – Safdarjung Hospital, Ram Manohar Lohia Hospital and Lady Hardinge Hospital – as the nodal centres.

These three hospitals will serve as the quarantine centre for the patients.

Apart from this, laboratories across India have been asked to prepare for the mpox detection. Currently, there are 32 labs that can test the mpox infection.

According to data published by the WHO, India has reported 30 confirmed cases of mpox infection since the 2022, with the last case being reported in March this year.