Swiss pharmaceutical giant Roche announced on Wednesday that it is increasing its capacity to produce diagnostic tests for mpox in response to a resurgence of the potentially deadly virus. Roche’s chief, Thomas Schinecker, stated, “We’ve ramped up our production in order to meet potential demand,” during the presentation of the company’s third-quarter sales results.
Recent outbreaks of mpox, including cases of a new variant, have been reported across various countries in Africa, with over 1,100 deaths recorded on the continent this year, according to the African Union’s health agency. The virus has also spread beyond Africa, with Germany confirming its first infection of the new mpox variant clade 1b on Tuesday. Single cases have also been identified in Sweden and Thailand.
Schinecker noted, “It seems like there are more cases in Europe,” highlighting the urgency for enhanced testing and monitoring as the situation evolves. Roche’s proactive measures aim to support public health efforts in managing the ongoing outbreaks and ensuring the availability of diagnostic resources.
“Maybe they are not all in the media yet, but there are already more mpox cases.”
Mpox, previously known as monkeypox, is a viral disease related to smallpox that causes fever, body aches, swollen lymph nodes and a rash that forms into blisters.
It has two subtypes — clade 1 and clade 2.
The virus, long endemic in central Africa, gained international prominence in May 2022 when clade 2 spread around the world, mostly affecting gay and bisexual men.
The World Health Organization declared a global health emergency for mpox in July 2022, but following successful vaccination and awareness initiatives, that declaration was lifted in May 2023. However, just a year later, a new two-pronged epidemic has emerged, primarily in the Democratic Republic of Congo, involving both the original clade 1 strain and a new variant, clade 1b.
Roche developed its PCR test for detecting mpox during the 2022 outbreak. Although Roche’s chief, Thomas Schinecker, who previously led the company’s diagnostics unit, did not specify the current production numbers, he assured that the company could handle a demand potentially ten times greater than what they are currently facing.
