In a ‘Shocker’ Decision, Japan Approves Mpox Drug That Failed in Two Efficacy Trials

January 24, 2025

Electron micrograph of mpox virus infected cells

(Science) – On 2 January, Japan’s regulatory agency issued a news release that startled some scientists: It had approved the antiviral drug tecovirimat, also known as TPOXX, for the treatment of mpox and two cousins, smallpox and cowpox.

No treatments exist for mpox, a painful and sometimes fatal disease now raging in sub-Saharan Africa, and tecovirimat initially looked promising: It prevented death in monkeys given lethal doses of mpox and smallpox virus. (Read More)