The Oxford University team credited with finding effective drugs to treat COVID is trialling an antiviral called tecovirimat to treat monkeypox, which although typically gets better on its own, can takes weeks of recovery and have serious complications.
Tecovirimat (also known as Tpoxx) prevents the virus from leaving infected cells, stopping its spread within the body. It was licensed this year for monkeypox, based on promising results from initial studies in animals and evidence of safety in healthy human volunteers, reports BBC News.
Around 500 patients will take part in the trial. Some will be treated twice-daily with tecovirimat tablets while they recuperate from the virus in their own home; others will receive a placebo instead. By comparing the two groups of volunteers, the researchers hope to have the results for the drug trial within months.
“The aim is to find a treatment that can help people get better faster and get out of quarantine,” said Professor Sir Peter Horby, one of the PLATINUM trial researchers at the University of Oxford.
BBC News article – Monkeypox antiviral drug put to the test in trial (Open access)
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WHO declares monkeypox a global health emergency
French study suggests monkeypox can spread asymptomatically
Monkeypox mutating faster than expected – Lisbon scientists