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takyon [soylentnews.org] writes:

Drug to Treat Smallpox Approved by F.D.A., a Move Against Bioterrorism [nytimes.com] (archive [archive.is])

The Food and Drug Administration on Friday approved the first drug intended to treat smallpox — a move that could halt a lethal pandemic if the virus were to be released as a terrorist bioweapon or through a laboratory accident.

The antiviral pill, tecovirimat, also known as Tpoxx, has never been tested in humans with smallpox because the disease was declared eradicated in 1980, three years after the last known case.

But it was very effective at protecting animals deliberately infected with monkeypox and rabbitpox, two related diseases that can be lethal. It also caused no severe side effects when safety-tested in 359 healthy human volunteers, the F.D.A. said.

"This new treatment affords us an additional option should smallpox ever be used as a bioweapon," said Dr. Scott Gottlieb, the F.D.A.'s commissioner.

Also at NBC [nbcnews.com].

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