Amid the rising Monkeypox cases across the world, the Serum Institute of India (SII), one of the largest manufacturers of the COVID-19 vaccine 'Covishield', is planning to develop a messenger RNA (mRNA) vaccine against monkeypox.
SII chief Adar Poonawalla told NDTV news channel that the institute is currently in talks with US biotech company Novavax for global partnership in the development of the monkeypox vaccine.
"We are talking to Novovax. We really need to see whether there will be a lot of demand or whether in three to four months it fizzles out," the SII chief added.
Last week, India reported four cases of monkeypox, while several other suspects across the country are currently under observation.
Poonawalla explained that while the process of manufacturing and producing a monkeypox vaccine in the Indian market will probably take a year, the institute is planning to import a few million doses of a smallpox vaccine which can be used to treat cases to meet the current emergency requirements.
For the import of the smallpox vaccine, the institute is in talks with Danish pharmaceutical company Bavarian Nordic.
"In an emergency situation, we could always do the full finish of the product made by that company. That would give access to Indians without safety issues - since the vaccine is time-tested. To make it from scratch will take some time. Bulk supply should be adequate to handle," Poonawalla said.
However, in case of the need to import a larger quantity of the vaccine, Poonawalla said that the Indian government would have to step in and take the call with the experts.
He also remarked that there is no need to panic over the detection of some cases, as the disease has been around for decades.
Last week, the World Health Organization (WHO) declared monkeypox a “global public health emergency”, citing cause for concern.
Globally, over 18,000 cases of monkeypox have been reported, and there have been at least five deaths so far.
The Monkeypox virus is transmitted from infected animals to humans via indirect or direct contact. Human-to-human transmission can occur through infectious skin or lesions and respiratory droplets.