Tpoxx was first approved to treatsmallpox.
Still, Tpoxx is considered the best option for managing mpox symptoms and slowing infections.
It works by disabling a certain protein that the virus needs to escape a cell it has infected.
Verywell / Photo Illustration by Ellen Lindner
Without this protein, the virus cant breach other healthy cells and spread throughout the body.
How Is Tpoxx Administered?
Tecovirimat comes as both a pill and an intravenous (IV) injection.
The pills are taken over two weeks two to three times a day, depending on the patients weight.
To properly absorb the drug, the patient must take the pills along with a full and fatty meal.
In this outbreak, there are very few deaths due to mpox.
Still, someone can wind up in the hospital if they have another infection or a particularly bad case.
The most common side effects in those who took it orally were headache and nausea.
Who Is Eligible?
How Effective Is Tpoxx at Treating Mpox?
Im hopeful and optimistic about how its working.
And really within the first couple of days, people are feeling better.
Where the data gap exists is really in efficacy, she said.
Gathering more data could help inform public recommendations and individual care.
If it can reduce the duration of illness, maybe that can help people leave isolation earlier.
Maybe that can help reduce transmission from environmental surfaces or to their household contacts, Gilliams said.
That makes it difficult to know how effective the therapy is on its own.
Besides, in most cases, mpox patients will fully recover without any treatment.
Anecdotally, many people seem to respond to the drug and have improved… We eagerly look forward to having those data in the coming months.
This data may help federal regulators decide whether to authorize the drug for this use.
Its Still Hard to Get Tpoxx
Tpoxx is considered an investigational new drug.
This status means that providers can apply to give certain medications that arent yet FDA-approved.
Now, providers can begin prescribing the drug before all the paperwork is complete.
Though the process has become more streamlined, it still requires providers to have certain infrastructure or support.
Its not really an issue with the actual amount of drug that is possibly out there.
I think its really a matter of implementation and comfort with the procedures.
The drug is available at no cost.
Determining how to access tecovirimat is a potential challenge probably in most parts of the country, Glesby said.
Academic medical centers often have the infrastructure to help patients access tecovirimat.
Glesby said people who live near these centers may see if they can be seen by a provider there.
But there havent been any clinical studies in children yet.
Still, the vaccines wont work to treat the disease once it has taken hold in the body.
For most viral infections, early treatment is generally better than later treatment, Glesby said.
But has this been proven in the case of tecovirimat and monkeypox?
But dont expect your provider to be on board with doling out the treatment right away, Gilliams said.
Do not rest until you feel comfortable with sort of the responses youve received.
Be sure to test whether willinteractwith other medications you are taking.
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.Monkeypox: 2022 U.S. map & case count.
National Library of Medicine: DailyMed.Tpoxxtecovirimat monohydrate injection, solution, concentrate[drug label].
Laudisoit A, Tepage F, Colebunders R.Oral tecovirimat for the treatment of smallpox.N Engl J Med.
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.Monkeypox and smallpox vaccine guidance.
