SIGA Technologies, Inc. announced the exercise of a procurement option under its 75A50118C00019 contract with Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority, part of the office of the Assistant Secretary for Preparedness and Response at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services for the delivery of oral TPOXX® treatment courses valued at approximately $112.5 million to the U.S. government.
NEW YORK, Sept. 13, 2021 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- SIGA Technologies, Inc. (SIGA) (NASDAQ: SIGA), a commercial-stage pharmaceutical company, today announced the exercise of a procurement option under its 75A50118C00019 (19C) contract with Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority (BARDA), part of the office of the Assistant Secretary for Preparedness and Response at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services for the delivery of oral TPOXX® treatment courses valued at approximately $112.5 million to the U.S. government. Product deliveries in connection with the option exercise are targeted for 2021.
“This option exercise, in combination with international orders, highlights the global importance of smallpox preparedness,” said Phil Gomez, CEO of SIGA. “With the option exercised under the 19C BARDA contract, SIGA has received orders valued at a total of approximately $123 million for the year to date for the procurement of oral TPOXX®”.
ABOUT SIGA TECHNOLOGIES, INC. and TPOXX®
SIGA Technologies, Inc. is a commercial-stage pharmaceutical company focused on the health security market. Health security comprises countermeasures for biological, chemical, radiological and nuclear attacks (biodefense market), vaccines and therapies for emerging infectious diseases, and health preparedness. Our lead product is TPOXX®, also known as tecovirimat and ST-246®, an orally administered and IV formulation antiviral drug for the treatment of human smallpox disease caused by variola virus. TPOXX® is a novel small-molecule drug and the U.S. government maintains a stockpile of TPOXX® for treatment of smallpox. Over the past decade, the U.S. government has procured, or has current orders for, approximately $705 million of TPOXX® for national preparedness. The oral formulation of TPOXX® was approved by the FDA for the treatment of smallpox in 2018. The full label is here: https://dailymed.nlm.nih.gov/dailymed/drugInfo.cfm?setid=fce826ab-4d6a-4139-a2ee-a304a913a253. For more information about SIGA, please visit www.siga.com.
About Smallpox1
Smallpox is a contagious, disfiguring and often deadly disease that has affected humans for thousands of years. Naturally occurring smallpox was eradicated worldwide by 1980, the result of an unprecedented global immunization campaign. Samples of smallpox virus have been kept for research purposes. This has led to concerns that smallpox could someday be used as a biological warfare agent. A vaccine can prevent smallpox, but the risk of the current vaccine’s side effects is too high to justify routine vaccination for people at low risk of exposure to the smallpox virus.
COVID-19 Pandemic
The COVID-19 pandemic has caused significant societal and economic disruption. Such disruption, and the associated risks and costs, are expected to continue for an indeterminate period of time. Given the uncertain scale, scope, and current and future impact of the pandemic, the Company is regularly reviewing business and financial risks, and seeking coordination with its government partners with respect to the performance of current and future contract timing and execution. Additionally, the Company is coordinating closely with service providers and vendors, in particular contract manufacturing organizations that constitute our supply chain, with respect to actions and risks caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. Finally, the Company has proactively provided its employees with resources and other support to help ensure continued success in remote work settings as they navigate the current pandemic environment.
The COVID-19 pandemic has not adversely affected the liquidity position of the Company, nor is it currently expected to have a material adverse effect on the financial condition of the Company. The pandemic has and may continue to delay the timing of international contract awards for oral TPOXX® given the need of government officials to focus on meeting the demands of the current COVID-19 pandemic. Additionally, the pandemic could result in a slower pace of product deliveries if the pandemic results in shortages or delays in the receipt by the supply chain of raw materials and other essential items for manufacturing. Otherwise, the pandemic is not currently expected to have a material adverse effect on the short-term financial results of the Company, although the Company cannot provide assurances as to the ultimate impact of the pandemic upon the broader macro environment or the Company’s industry.
FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS
This press release contains certain “forward-looking statements” within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995, as amended. Such forward-looking statements are subject to various known and unknown risks and uncertainties, and SIGA cautions you that any forward-looking information provided by or on behalf of SIGA is not a guarantee of future performance. More detailed information about SIGA and risk factors that may affect the realization of forward-looking statements, including the forward-looking statements in this press release, is set forth in SIGA’s filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission, including SIGA’s Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2020, and in other documents that SIGA has filed with the SEC. SIGA urges investors and security holders to read those documents free of charge at the SEC’s web site at http://www.sec.gov. Interested parties may also obtain those documents free of charge from SIGA. Forward-looking statements are current only as of the date on which such statements were made, and except for our ongoing obligations under the United States of America federal securities laws, we undertake no obligation to update publicly any forward-looking statements whether as a result of new information, future events, or otherwise.
The information contained in this press release does not necessarily reflect the position or the policy of the Government and no official endorsement should be inferred.
Investor Contacts:
Laine Yonker, Edison Group
lyonker@edisongroup.com
Michael Crawford, Edison Group
mcrawford@edisongroup.com
1 http://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/smallpox/basics/definition/con-20022769
