SIGA Announces $4.8 Million Grant for SIGA-246, Its Smallpox Drug Candidate
Wednesday August 2, 7:30 am ET
NEW YORK--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Aug. 2, 2006--SIGA Technologies, Inc. (NASDAQ: SIGA - News) today announced the receipt of $4.8 million Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase II continuation grant from the National Institutes of Health (NIH). The grant will support SIGA's ongoing development of its lead smallpox drug candidate, SIGA-246. The company recently announced that SIGA-246 successfully completed its initial human safety clinical trial.
"The NIH has been a great supporter of our efforts to develop SIGA-246 during the past 2 years. We appreciate their continued funding and will use the current grant to support activities which are essential to advance SIGA-246 towards filing of a New Drug Application," said Dr. Dennis E. Hruby, Chief Scientific Officer of SIGA.
Smallpox is classified as a Category A agent by the Center for Disease Control (CDC). It is considered one of the most significant threats for use as a biowarfare agent due to the fact that people in the United States have not been vaccinated against it since 1972. Smallpox is very easily transmitted from person to person, and has high mortality rates (30-60%) with 90% morbidity. Mass immunizations of the general population using the current live vaccine are not recommended, as there are known complications in certain individuals from vaccination (including encephalitis, myocarditis, disseminated vaccinia virus infection, and death). At present there is no approved treatment for smallpox that can be safely administered to the general population without significant risk of adverse reactions.
About SIGA Technologies, Inc.
SIGA Technologies is applying viral and bacterial genomics and sophisticated computational modeling in the design and development of novel products for the prevention and treatment of serious infectious diseases, with an emphasis on products for biological warfare defense. SIGA has the potential to become a significant force in the discovery of vaccine and pharmaceutical agents to fight emerging pathogens. SIGA's product development programs emphasize the increasingly serious problem of drug resistant bacteria. In addition to smallpox, SIGA has antiviral programs targeting other Category A viral pathogens, including arenaviruses (Lassa fever, Junin, Machupo, Guanarito, Sabia, and lymphocytic choriomeningitis), dengue virus, and the filoviruses (Ebola and Marburg). |
