Tonix Pharmaceuticals (TNXP) Soars on Monkeypox Vaccine Patent, TNX-801 Could be an 'Effective and Better Tolerated' Vaccine According to Analyst

Shares of Tonix Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ: TNXP) are keeping traders busy early into Wednesday’s trading session, soaring close to 50% in heavy trading, on the news that the company has received a US patent for TNX-801 – its smallpox and monkeypox vaccine and recombinant pox virus platform technology.

The announcement times well into the increased attention the World Health Organization (WHO), the media, and the investors are paying to the growing number of monkeypox cases reported around the globe - according to latest WHO figures, as of May 31st, 2022, there were over 550 confirmed cases in 30 countries.

Smallpox, although considered an eradicated disease, routine vaccinations against which have been mostly discontinued in 1970s, has long been identified as a potential biological weapon – the virus was confirmed to had been studied by Soviet and later Russian biolabs.

The traditional pox vaccine - Jynneos, from Bavarian Nordic – although renowned for efficacy and being instrumental to the original disease eradication, is also known for its safety and tolerability concerns including pain, swelling and severe allergic reactions.

While Jynneos is based on vaccinia, a virus related to smallpox, Tonix’s new TNX-801 technology uses genetic sequencing analysis of smallpox, cowpox, and horsepox to construct a synthetic-chimeric horsepox virus. Pre-clinical data and animal studies have shown the candidate to offer strong protection, while inducing fewer side effects. Noble Capital Markets recently noted that “TNX-801 is in development to be an effective and better tolerated smallpox vaccine.”

TNXP, which hit an all-time low of $1.91 just 2 weeks back, has since nearly doubled and is trading around $3.60 per share.

By Vlad Schepkov

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