Full Press Release Details
Contact: Investor Contact:
Dr. Bernard Kasten Dianne Will
SIGA Technologies, Inc. Willstar Consultants, Inc.
(212) 672-9100 dwill@willstar.net
SIGA AND TRANSTECH PHARMA ANNOUNCE RECEIPT OF $2.7 MILLION IN NIH FUNDING
New York, NY. and Greensboro, NC., February 15, 2005 - Scientists at SIGA
Technologies, Inc. (NASDAQ: SIGA) and privately held TransTech Pharma, Inc.
(TTP) announced the receipt of a $2.7 Million challenge grant from the National
Institutes of Health (NIH) to support the development of protease inhibitors to
treat orthopoxvirus infections, such as smallpox and monkeypox. The grant award
will be used to fund SIGA and TransTech Pharma's joint research efforts directed
toward the discovery, optimization, and advancement of lead drug candidates for
smallpox and biowarfare defense.
"We are pleased to share in this award with TransTech as validation of our
capabilities to advance these research programs to the next level. This support
will make a significant impact on the acceleration of these important programs,"
said Dr. Dennis E. Hruby, Chief Scientific Officer of SIGA Technologies.
Bernard L. Kasten, M.D., SIGA's Chief Executive Officer, commented that,
"Smallpox virus (variola) is considered one of the most significant biowarfare
threats. It is classified as a category A bioterrorism agent by the Centers for
Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Smallpox is very easily transmitted, it
has very high mortality rates and the population is no longer vaccinated against
it. Mass immunizations of the general population using the current live vaccine
are not recommended, as there are known complications affecting some
individuals, which may include encephalitis, myocarditis, and death.
Immunocompromised individuals are at particular risk from dissemination and
systemic spread of the live virus in the presently available smallpox vaccine.
At present there is no treatment for smallpox that can be safely administered to
the general population without significant risk of adverse reactions. SIGA is
committed to developing effective smallpox protease inhibitors to complement
SIGA's previously announced smallpox antiviral drug SIGA-246, which inhibits
extracellular enveloped virus (EEV) formation, and SIGA's fourth generation
smallpox vaccine program."
About SIGA Technologies, Inc.
SIGA Technologies is applying bacterial and viral genomics 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 is becoming 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
and emerging pathogens. SIGA's vaccine and drug platforms are based on its
pioneering research into the structure, function and processing of bacterial
surface proteins. SIGA is leveraging these platforms through multiple strategic
partners, including the National Institutes of Health, the Department of
Defense, and TransTech Pharma, Inc. For more information about SIGA, please
visit SIGA's Web site at www.siga.com.
About TransTech Pharma, Inc.
TransTech Pharma is a privately held drug discovery company employing
approximately 80 people. The Company's high-throughput drug discovery platform,
Translational Technology(R), translates the wealth of information from genomics
and proteomics into novel and effective small molecules as therapeutics.
TransTech has developed several proprietory internal drug discovery programs in
various stages of pre-clinical and clinical development for the treatment of
human diseases of unmet medical need including thrombosis, Alzheimer's,
diabetes/obesity and the neutralization of potential biowarfare agents. In
addition to its internal drug discovery programs, TransTech is actively involved
in four research collaborations to discover and develop drug candidates with
pharmaceutical/biotech companies Novo Nordisk A/S, Cephalon, Inc., Merck & Co.
Inc., and SIGA Technologies, Inc. For further information about the company, go
to its web site at www.ttpharma.com.
This Press Release contains certain "forward-looking statements'' within the
meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995, as amended,
including statements regarding the efficacy of potential products, the timelines
for bringing such products to market and the availability of funding sources for
continued development of such products. Forward-looking statements are based on
management's estimates, assumptions and projections, and are subject to
uncertainties, many of which are beyond the control of SIGA. Actual results may
differ materially from those anticipated in any forward-looking statement.
Factors that may cause such differences include the risks that (a) potential
products that appear promising to SIGA or its collaborators cannot be shown to
be efficacious or safe in subsequent pre-clinical or clinical trials, (b) SIGA
or its collaborators will not obtain appropriate or necessary governmental
approvals to market these or other potential products, (c) SIGA may not be able
to obtain promised funding for its development projects or other needed funding,
and (d) SIGA may not be able to secure or enforce adequate legal protection,
including patent protection, for its products. 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 and
the above mentioned presentation, 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, 2003, and in other documents that SIGA
has filed with the Commission. SIGA urges investors and security holders to read
those documents free of charge at the Commission's Web site at
http://www.sec.gov. Interested parties may also obtain those documents free of
charge from SIGA. SIGA does not undertake to publicly update or revise its
forward-looking statements as a result of new information, future events or