A Beijing-based biotech company said on Friday they have developed a vaccine for mpox, a contagious disease previously known as monkeypox.

The company, Beijing Institute of Biological Products Co., Ltd. (BIBP), said China's drug authority has accepted their application for a permission to launch clinical reviews of the newly developed vaccine.

The vaccine is based on replication-defective mpox viruses that cannot spread, but can grant a person immunity.

China reported 106 new mpox cases in June.

"Mpox is unlikely to cause an epidemic in China, as it spreads slower than COVID-19 and flu," said Shi Guoqing, deputy director of the Public Health Emergency Center at China's Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

"All 106 mpox cases reported in the Chinese mainland in June are men," Shi told a press conference on Friday. "Among them, 101 are men who have sex with men. And 96 of them had sex within 21 days before they fell ill."

Shi said quarantine is not required for close contacts.

The World Health Organization (WHO) has reported more than 88,000 mpox cases worldwide since the latest outbreak in May 2022. A total of 149 deaths have been recorded by WHO as of July 11.

BIBP is a subsidiary of China National Biotec Group Company Limited (CNBG), China National Pharmaceutical Group Co., Ltd. (Sinopharm).