Tonix Pharmaceuticals Holding Corp. (NASDAQ: TNXP) announced the publication of new preclinical research in the peer-reviewed Journal of Virology, demonstrating significant differences in virulence between mpox virus clade IIb, the strain circulating in the U.S., and the historic clade IIa strain. The study, conducted at the company's research and development center, identified three new mouse models for investigating mpox pathogenesis and found that the clade IIb isolate is up to 100,000 times less virulent than clade IIa. These findings provide additional tools to evaluate vaccines and other medical countermeasures.
According to Tonix, the results support continued development of TNX-801, its live attenuated horsepox virus vaccine candidate for the prevention of mpox and smallpox. The company believes the new animal models will help researchers better understand emerging mpox variants, assess vaccine durability and protective efficacy, and advance efforts to address the ongoing global threat posed by the disease. This research is particularly timely given the ongoing circulation of mpox and the need for effective prevention strategies.
For leaders in business and technology, this development highlights the importance of continued investment in vaccine research and development, especially as emerging variants challenge existing countermeasures. The ability to model different mpox strains more accurately could accelerate the development of next-generation vaccines, potentially reducing the economic and public health burden of future outbreaks. Tonix's focus on both CNS and immunology treatments positions it as a diversified biotech player, with TNX-801 representing a key asset in its immunology pipeline.
Tonix Pharmaceuticals is a fully-integrated, commercial-stage biotechnology company focused on central nervous system (CNS) and immunology treatments in areas of high unmet medical need. The company's CNS commercial infrastructure supports its marketed products, including its acute migraine products Zembrace SymTouch and Tosymra. Tonix is also advancing a pipeline of immunology programs, including monoclonal antibody TNX-4800 for Lyme disease prophylaxis and TNX-1500, a third-generation CD40 ligand inhibitor for the prevention of kidney transplant rejection.
The full press release is available at https://ibn.fm/ZlMkM. For more information about Tonix Pharmaceuticals, visit their newsroom at https://ibn.fm/TNXP.
