Important events
May 232022
Monkeypox isn’t poxy to Siga
Siga Technologies gets an injection of investor support as it emerges as a frontrunner in the fight against monkeypox.- SIGA shot up 66% last week as the drugmaker confirms it’s in talks with the EU to stockpile an antiviral drug for monkeypox. CEO Phil Gomez said that the company’s smallpox drug has been requested as a treatment, giving the stock its biggest intraday jump since the Zika virus scare in 2016.
- Its antiviral smallpox drug tecovirimat is likely to be used, with experts believing these sorts of smallpox vaccines can offer 85% effectiveness in preventing monkeypox. Indeed, Siga seems to be the player with the pox solutions – last week, the US Department of Defense handed Siga a contract to supply $7.5m worth of the antiviral drug.
- Elsewhere, other drugmakers have seen gains due to the outbreak. Emergent Biosolutions was up 22% last week, while Bavarian Nordic surged 63%. While the scale of the outbreak has yet to be determined, it seems countries aren’t taking any risks given the sudden surge of covid only two years ago.
Christina Victoria Craft / Unsplash
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