Biosecurity

US Stockpiles New Drug to Address Bioterrorism Risk

The US Congress has taken steps to enable the development and approval of countermeasures to thwart pathogens that could be employed as weapons in order to address the risk of bioterrorism. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has recently approved a new drug for the treatment of smallpox, a pill stockpiled in case the virus is used as a bioweapon. TPOXX, a small-molecule antiviral treatment, is the first therapy approved for this biosecurity use.

It was developed by SIGA Technologies in partnership with the Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority (BARDA). According to the contract, 2 million courses of oral TPOXX have been delivered to the Strategic National Stockpile. In the event of a bioterrorism attack, Health and Human Services estimates that more than 1.7 million people could need treatment.

TPOXX works by preventing the smallpox virus from spreading to the rest of the body, thus containing the infection until the body’s immune system can fight off the disease, according to homelandprepnews.com.