SIGA Announces Public Health Agency of Canada Contract Award to Purchase Up To Approximately $33 Million of Oral TPOXX®
January 13 2021 - 4:45PM
SIGA Technologies, Inc. (SIGA) (NASDAQ: SIGA), a commercial-stage
pharmaceutical company focused on the health security market, today
announced that the Public Health Agency of Canada (PHAC) has
awarded a contract to Meridian Medical Technologies,
Inc. (“Meridian”, a Pfizer Company) (the “Contract”) for the
purchase up to approximately $33 million of oral TPOXX®
(tecovirimat) within five years. The Contract specifies firm
commitments for the purchase of approximately $3.4 million of oral
TPOXX by March 31, 2021 and a cumulative purchase of approximately
$17.2 million of oral TPOXX by March 31, 2023; the remaining
courses under the Contract are scheduled to be purchased after
March 31, 2023 and are subject to option exercise by PHAC. The
Contract award follows, but is separate and incremental to, the
issuance in April, 2020 of a contract by the Canadian Department of
National Defence (CDND) for the delivery of up to approximately $14
million of oral TPOXX.
“We are pleased to work with the Public Health
Agency of Canada to supply oral TPOXX, which highlights the
importance of smallpox preparedness for not only the military, but
also for civilian populations. Both the United States and Canada
have underscored the critical role of preparedness for a smallpox
outbreak with contracts for the procurement of TPOXX,” said Dr.
Phil Gomez, CEO of SIGA Technologies. “We are continuing to work
collaboratively with our partner, Meridian as well as the
Department of Defence and the Canadian Public Health Agency to
support procurement needs for TPOXX to protect Canada’s military
and civilian populations, as well as additional jurisdictions
around the world.”
As with all international sales of TPOXX,
Meridian is the counterparty to the contract and SIGA will be
responsible for the manufacture and delivery of product.
SIGA anticipates Canadian regulatory approval in late 2021 or
early 2022.
In May 2019, SIGA entered into an international
promotion agreement with Meridian. Under the agreement, Meridian
will promote the sale of oral TPOXX for the treatment of smallpox
in all international markets, except the United States. SIGA will
continue to own all rights to the product and its related
intellectual property.
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 US maintains a
stockpile of 1.7 million oral courses in the Strategic National
Stockpile under Project BioShield. The oral formulation of TPOXX
was approved by the FDA for the treatment of smallpox on July 13,
2018. In September 2018, SIGA signed a contract with Biomedical
Advanced Research and Development Authority (BARDA) for additional
procurement and development related to both oral and intravenous
formulations of TPOXX. 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,
2019, 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
212-867-1768david.carey@finnpartners.com
MediaStephanie
Seiler206-713-0124stephanie.seiler@finnpartners.com
1 http://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/smallpox/basics/definition/con-20022769
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