SIGA Announces TPOXX® Promotion Agreement with Meridian Medical Technologies, Inc. (A Pfizer Company) for International Mark...
June 03 2019 - 7:30AM
SIGA Technologies, Inc. (SIGA) (NASDAQ: SIGA), a commercial-stage
pharmaceutical company focused on the health security market, today
announced that it has entered into an international promotion
agreement with Meridian Medical Technologies, Inc. (“Meridian”, a
Pfizer Company). Under the agreement, Meridian will promote
the sale of oral TPOXX for the treatment of smallpox in all
markets, except for the United States and South Korea. SIGA
will continue to be the owner of all rights in the U.S.
market.
“Meridian, a leader within the global medical
countermeasure industry, has sold products in over 30 countries
worldwide and has been marketing and distributing emergency care
treatment options to military and civilian authorities for more
than 50 years. We are pleased that they recognize TPOXX’s
significant market potential outside the U.S.,” said Dr. Phil
Gomez, CEO of SIGA. “We are confident that Meridian’s
experience and broad network in these markets makes it an optimal
partner for SIGA as we work to make oral TPOXX a standard component
of smallpox preparedness strategies around the globe.”
Under the terms of the agreement, Meridian has
exclusive rights and responsibilities to market and sell oral TPOXX
in all geographic regions except for the U.S. and South Korea, and
SIGA retains ownership, distribution and supply rights and
regulatory responsibilities in connection with TPOXX. The
agreement does not include any cash payments at signing, and both
parties are responsible for the costs of their respective
activities. Meridian will be compensated under the promotion
agreement through a fee that will be based on a percentage of net
sales of oral TPOXX.
“TPOXX is a natural addition to Meridian’s
portfolio of medical countermeasures and emergency care
treatments,” said Tom Handel, General Manager for Pfizer and
President of Meridian. “We are excited to partner with SIGA to
leverage our collective strengths for the ultimate benefit of
global health security, the patients and customers who we serve.”
TPOXX is the first and only drug approved by the
U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for the treatment of
smallpox disease in adults and pediatric patients weighing at least
13 kg (~29lbs). Over 2 million courses of TPOXX have been
stockpiled by the U.S. Government to mitigate the potential impact
of a smallpox outbreak. The World Economic Forum report
titled “The Global Risks Report 2019” highlighted that recent
developments have “increased the risk of smallpox being released
into the world, either accidentally or intentionally.” Given
the highly infectious nature of smallpox, any outbreak could
rapidly become a global emergency, and medical countermeasures will
need to be deployed rapidly by all impacted nations.
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 intravenous (IV)
formulation antiviral medicine for the treatment of human smallpox
disease caused by variola virus. TPOXX is a novel small-molecule
product of which 2 million oral courses have been delivered to the
Strategic National Stockpile under Project BioShield. The FDA
approved the oral formulation of TPOXX for the treatment of
smallpox on July 13, 2018. In September 2018, SIGA signed a new
contract with Biomedical Advanced Research and Development
Authority (BARDA) for procurement of oral and intravenous
formulations of TPOXX, and development activities. For more
information about SIGA, please visit www.siga.com.
ABOUT MERIDIAN MEDICAL TECHNOLOGIES,
INC.
Meridian Medical Technologies, Inc., a Pfizer company, has been
putting emergency care treatment options into the hands of military
and civilian defenders for more than 50 years. Meridian is
committed to help defend against critical, time-sensitive,
life-or-death situations by providing medical countermeasures to
the United States Department of Defense, Emergency Medical
Services, Homeland Security, and more than 30 nations around
the world.
Meridian holds a federal SAFETY Act designation and
certification from the Department of Homeland Security for its
portfolio of auto-injectors. The SAFETY Act is intended to provide
critical incentives for the development and deployment of
anti-terrorism technologies by providing liability protections for
sellers of qualified anti-terrorism technologies.
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.
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 fiscal year ended December 31,
2018, 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.
Contacts:
InvestorsDavid Carey 212-867-1768dcarey@lazarpartners.com
MediaStephanie Seiler206-713-0124sseiler@lazarpartners.com
1
http://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/smallpox/basics/definition/con-20022769
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