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An Mpox treatment center in Congo. Concerns about the next global pandemic are growing around the world and in Germany. (Archive photo) © Moses Sawasawa/AP/dpa
The World Health Organization has declared the highest level of alert because of the disease Mpox. The share prices of many pharmaceutical manufacturers are rising – German companies are also benefiting.
Berlin – Concerns about the next global pandemic are growing around the world and in Germany too. The number of cases of Mpox, formerly known as monkeypox, is rising rapidly, especially in Central Africa. The World Health Organization (WHO) recently warned of the Mpox outbreaks there and a new, possibly more dangerous variant, the highest alert level has been declared. In addition to the Democratic Republic of Congo, Burundi and neighboring countries are also affected, but Sweden has also already reported a case of infection.
Warning about Mpox: Which pharmaceutical manufacturers profit from the vaccination
In this context, the WHO is calling for an expansion of the production of vaccines against the Mpox virus. Manufacturers must “really ramp up production so that we have access to many, many more vaccines,” said a spokeswoman. The pharmaceutical companies are happy to comply – and the first winners are becoming visible.
The share price of the Danish-German pharmaceutical company Bavarian Nordic rose by more than 40 percent in August, according to Welt reported. Bavarian Nordic has received an order to supply 440,000 doses of its Mpox vaccine to an unnamed European country. The order was expected and included in the company’s forecasts for the year, Bavarian Nordic said last week. The order will therefore not affect the remaining capacity to support the management of the “public health emergency of international concern” declared by the WHO.
Two vaccines against Mpox currently on the market
According to the WHO, two vaccines are available against Mpox: MVA-BN from Bavarian Nordic and the LC16 vaccine developed on behalf of the Japanese government. Studies on new vaccine candidates are also underway at several pharmaceutical companies, such as Biontech. The Mainz-based biotech company’s share price has also increased since the beginning of August.
Harald Smolak, partner at the Munich-based management consultancy Atreus, estimates Weltthat an effective vaccine against Mpox would be economically important for Biontech. “With the Covid vaccines, Biontech can hardly generate any more sales and the cancer drugs are still in clinical trials. A vaccine against Mpox would help the company to bridge the gap between Covid and the cancer drugs,” Smolak told the newspaper.
New variant at Mpox: These countries are affected
Known for decades as monkeypox, Illness can be transmitted from animals, through close contact, but also from person to person, for example during sex. Symptoms include pox-like pustules on the skin, fever and aching limbs.
The experts are particularly concerned about sub-variant 1b, which is circulating in the Democratic Republic of Congo and some other African countries such as Kenya, Rwanda and Uganda. According to government information, Sweden recently had the first confirmed Mpox case of clade 1b outside the African continent. The affected person had previously been in Africa.
Fear of Mpox is growing: What does this mean for Germany?
However, it is unlikely that Mpox will undergo a similar development to Corona in Germany. The transmission route of both viruses differs considerably – and thus also their infectious potential. Sars-Cov-2 is mainly transmitted via tiny droplets in the air, i.e. the respiratory tract. With Mpox, on the other hand, skin-to-skin contact is the main transmission route.
