On Monday, the European Commission secured over 10,000 treatment courses of tecovirimat to treat Monkeypox. This emergency procurement is funded by the Health Emergency Preparedness and Response Authority(HERA) and channelled via rescEU to treat patients in Member States with immediate needs. Tecovirimat is produced by the pharmaceutical company Meridian/SIGA.
Stella Kyriakides, Commissioner for Health and Food Safety, said: “Today, with our Health Emergency Preparedness and Response Authority, we have secured over 10,000 treatment courses to help those affected by Monkeypox. In addition to the over 330,000 vaccines already purchased by the EU, with these treatments we will help Member States meet immediate needs and ensure care for more patients in Europe. The declining trend of Monkeypox cases in the EU is encouraging but it does not mean that the threat has passed or that we can lower our guard. Preparedness is the fundament of our European Health Union.”
Commissioner for Crisis Management, Janez Lenarčič said: “Monkeypox is one of the priority threats identified as part of the rescEU strategic reserves. These batches of monkeypox antivirals will offer an additional level of protection our citizens. The stocks will be available to Member States on an urgent needs-basis.”
While this emergency procurement will ensure that urgent needs are met, an ongoing joint procurement driven by HERA and EU Member States will also address the medium and longer-term needs of Member States over time.
The purchase of the 10,000 treatment courses of tecovirimat can be accessed by all Participating States of the European Civil Protection Mechanism.
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