Emergent BioSolutions has announced its donation of 50,000 doses of its smallpox vaccine, ACAM2000, to several African nations, including the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Burundi, Kenya, Rwanda, and Uganda, in response to the ongoing mpox outbreak.
This donation comes as the World Health Organization (WHO) recently declared mpox a global public health emergency for the second time in two years, following the rapid spread of a new variant of the virus, known as clade Ib, across Africa. The variant has now also been detected outside the continent, with a confirmed case in Sweden.
The ACAM2000 vaccine, while primarily approved for smallpox, has been utilized in efforts to combat mpox. However, its application for mpox has not yet received approval from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA).
According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), ACAM2000 is a live, replicating virus vaccine that is associated with more known side effects and risks compared to Bavarian Nordic A/S’s (BAVA.CO) Jynneos vaccine, which is FDA-approved for both smallpox and mpox. Among the notable side effects of ACAM2000 is myocarditis or pericarditis, which is inflammation in or around the heart muscle, occurring in approximately 1 in 175 recipients of the vaccine, as reported by the FDA.
Unlike typical injections, ACAM2000 is administered through a series of small punctures on the skin using a two-pronged needle. The injection site then forms a scab, which takes 2-4 weeks to heal. Until the scab naturally falls off, there is a risk of the live virus spreading to other parts of the body or to other individuals.
Due to these risks, ACAM2000 is not recommended for individuals with compromised immune systems, such as those living with HIV.
Emergent BioSolutions’ donation aims to bolster efforts in the affected African countries to contain the spread of the virus and mitigate its impact on public health.
