Symbio Pharmaceuticals Ltd. has entered into a sponsored research agreement with Tufts University to conduct joint research on the intravenous formulation of the antiviral drug brincidofovir.

After declarations from the World Health Organization and the U.S. government that monkeypox is a public health emergency, attention is turning to the pharma industry’s response to the disease. Vaccines look likely to play a crucial role in controlling monkeypox – but could antivirals play a significant part as they did in the COVID-19 pandemic?

A move by Chimerix Inc. to strengthen its balance sheet by $225 million through the sale of smallpox drug Tembexa (brincidofovir) to biodefense specialist Emergent Biosolutions Inc. and extend its cash runway into 2026, should have proved a big win. Instead, shares (NASDAQ:CMRX) plunged nearly 61% May 16 on worry that Chimerix might be handing off a likely profitable program to fund a riskier oncology pipeline, a concern heightened by recent U.S. FDA feedback indicating lead oncology program ONC-201 might not be eligible for accelerated approval as previously expected.

Following years of testing against a lengthy roster of viral foes, Chimerix Inc.'s Tembexa (brincidofovir) has finally won FDA approval as a medical countermeasure against smallpox.