The Role of Pharmacists in Tackling Mpox: Challenges and Future Prospects: A Narrative Review.

BACKGROUND AND AIMS: Pharmacists play a key role in managing and mitigating mpox through clinical care, pharmacovigilance, vaccine management, and resilient supply chains. Management focuses on supportive care, infection prevention, and accurate diagnosis, with pharmacists ensuring the availability and rational use of vaccines, disinfectants, laboratory reagents, and personal protective equipment. They also promote vaccine equity, community engagement, pharmacovigilance, and efficient production and distribution of health commodities. In Africa, where 1.2 billion people lack access to mpox vaccines, pharmacists help address inequities through community outreach and trust-building. They further strengthen supply chains using inventory management, local production, and technologies such as artificial intelligence, blockchain, and continuous manufacturing. Pharmacists support humanitarian supply chains by promoting rational medicine use, preventing antimicrobial resistance, and supporting adherence. However, their impact is limited by vaccine inequities, varying clinical authority, inadequate training, and limited involvement in outbreak planning. Expanding their roles in surveillance, pharmacoeconomics, and real-world evidence is crucial to improve outcomes and cost-effectiveness. Looking ahead, pharmacists are essential in smallpox and mpox vaccine research, contributing to safety and efficacy through involvement in drug development and clinical trials.

METHODS: This narrative review employs a thematic synthesis to evaluate the pharmacist's role in the global mpox response. By analyzing literature from major databases (PubMed, Scopus, and Google Scholar) and technical reports, it identifies systemic opportunities and structural challenges within the pharmaceutical lifecycle.

CONCLUSION: Integrating pharmacists into multidisciplinary teams and enhancing their training in pharmacovigilance and infectious disease management are critical to achieving sustainable outbreak preparedness. Empowering pharmacists through structural reforms can enhance health system resilience, optimize cost, and safeguard public health in current and future pandemics.