Human mpox: Biology, epidemiology, therapeutic options, and development of small molecule inhibitors

Hairong Tang; Ao Zhang

doi:10.1002/med.21943

Human mpox: Biology, epidemiology, therapeutic options, and development of small molecule inhibitors

Med Res Rev. 2023 Jul;43(4):1019-1037. doi: 10.1002/med.21943. Epub 2023 Mar 9.

Authors

Hairong Tang^{1

2}, Ao Zhang^{1

2

3}

Affiliations

¹ Shanghai Frontiers Science Center for Drug Target Identification and Delivery, and the Engineering Research Center of Cell and Therapeutic Antibody of the Ministry of Education, School of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai, China.
² Shanghai Key Laboratory for Molecular Engineering of Chiral Drugs, School of Pharmacy, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai, China.
³ Lingang Laboratory, Shanghai, China.

PMID: 36891882
DOI: 10.1002/med.21943

Abstract

Although monkeypox (mpox) has been endemic in Western and Central Africa for 50 years, it has not received sufficient prophylactic and therapeutical attention to avoid evolving into an epidemic. From January 2022 to January 2023, more than 84,000 of mpox cases were reported from 110 countries worldwide. Case numbers appear to be rising every day, making mpox an increasing global public health threat for the foreseeable future. In this perspective, we review the known biology and epidemiology of mpox virus, together with the latest therapeutic options available for mpox treatment. Further, small molecule inhibitors against mpox virus and the future directions in this field are discussed as well.

Keywords: biology; epidemiology; mpox; small molecule inhibitors; therapeutic options.

Publication types

Review
Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

Biology
Humans
Mpox (monkeypox)*
Public Health