The EMA’s CHMP Recommends Bavarian Nordic’s Imvanex Vaccine for Monkeypox

The EMA’s Committee for Medicinal Products for Human Use (CHMP) has recommended expanding the authorization of Bavarian Nordic’s Imvanex vaccine to include prevention of monkeypox in adults.

Imvanex was first approved in the EU in 2013 for the prevention of smallpox. The vaccine contains modified vaccinia virus Ankara, which is related to the smallpox virus and is similar to the monkeypox virus.

The CHMP recommendation was based on data from several studies showing that the vaccine protects against monkeypox in nonhuman primates.

The CHMP also recommended the vaccine for use in protection against disease caused by the vaccinia virus, which leads to symptoms similar to, but milder than those of smallpox.