Since May 2022, outbreaks of monkeypox have been reported in several non-endemic countries including throughout Europe and in North America without known epidemiological links to endemic areas1,2. The disease is caused by monkeypox virus which is an orthopoxvirus closely related to smallpox virus.
Activities to contain the spread of the infection have so far focused on isolation and treatment of cases and contact tracing. The European Health Emergency preparedness and Response Authority (HERA) and EU Member States (MSs) have initiated purchase agreements of medical countermeasures.
Currently only one vaccine, Imvanex (Bavarian Nordic A/S), is authorised by EMA for prevention of smallpox in adults in the EU under exceptional circumstances due to the impossibility to generate efficacy data as smallpox virus is no longer circulating. Imvanex is a non-replicating live attenuated third-generation vaccine based on the Modified Vaccinia Ankara – Bavarian Nordic vector (MVA-BN), to be used as a standalone 2-dose regimen via subcutaneous administration…
