EMA response to the monkeypox public health emergency

The European Medicines Agency (EMA) has initiated a series of actions to respond to the ongoing monkeypox outbreak, which has been escalated by the World Health Organization (WHO) to a Public Health Emergency of International Concern (PHEIC) on July 23.

This is the first new PHEIC to be declared since the  regulation reinforcing EMA’s role in crisis preparedness and management of medicinal products and medical devices has become applicable.

Since then, scientists advising the WHO on monkeypox say the window is closing to stop its spread, with cases currently doubling every two weeks, raising concerns that it will take several months for the outbreak to peak. WHO Europe has forecast just over 27,000 monkeypox cases in 88 countries by August 2, up from 17,800 cases in nearly 70 countries at the latest count.