FDA Approves the first new drug for smallpox treatment

Recently, the U.S Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved SIgA technologies' new drug tpoxx (teovirimat), the first drug to treat smallpox, to fight bioterrorism It is reported that tpoxx was jointly developed by the biomedical advanced research and Development Agency (BARDA) of the U.S Department of health and human services Although the World Health Organization declared that smallpox was eradicated as a potentially fatal infectious disease in 1980, there has been a long-standing concern that smallpox could be used as a biological weapon To address the risk of bioterrorism, the United States Congress has taken steps to develop and approve countermeasures to stop pathogens used as weapons The IPO of tpox is an important milestone in these efforts Before smallpox was eradicated in 1980, it was mainly transmitted through direct contact between people Symptoms usually begin 10 to 14 days after infection, including fever, exhaustion, headache, and back pain The rash, which initially consisted of small pink masses, developed into a pus filled ulcer before the final scab and scarring Complications of smallpox may include encephalitis (inflammation of the brain), corneal ulcer (clear open ulcer in front of the eye), and blindness The therapeutic effect of tpoxx on smallpox was established by studying animals infected with smallpox virus Animals treated with tpoxx had a higher survival rate than those treated with placebo The safety of tpoxx was evaluated in 359 healthy volunteers without smallpox infection The most common side effects are headache, nausea and abdominal pain Tpoxx has also accepted the designation of orphan drugs, which provides priority review voucher to encourage and encourage the development of rare disease drugs and substance threat medical countermeasures, which provides additional incentives for some medical products aimed at treatment or prevention.