Full Press Release Details
Financial Officer & Acting CEO
APPOINTS DR. ERIC A. ROSE CHAIRMAN OF THE BOARD, WILL
SIGA) announced today that Eric A. Rose, M.D. was elected Chairman of the
Company's Board of Directors at a meeting of the Board on January 25, 2007. On
March 1, 2007, Dr. Rose will be taking leave from Columbia University and will
become the Chief Executive Officer of SIGA. Dr. Rose has been a member of SIGA's
Board since April 2001. He had also previously served as Interim CEO from April
19, 2001 through June 22, 2001. Dr. Rose succeeds Donald G. Drapkin as Chairman
of the Board. Mr. Drapkin will continue to serve the Company as a Board member.
is currently Chairman of the Department
of Surgery and Surgeon-in-Chief of the Columbia Presbyterian Center of New
Presbyterian Hospital, a position he has held since August 1994. Dr. Rose is
past President of the International Society for Heart
Lung Transplantation. Dr. Rose is also Morris & Rose Millstein Professor of
Columbia University's College of Physicians and Surgeons' Department of Surgery.
Dr. Rose also serves as a Director of Nephros, Inc., PharmaCore,
Inc., TransTech Pharma, Inc. and Keryx Biopharmaceuticals, Inc. Dr. Rose
graduate of both Columbia College and the Columbia University College of
Physicians & Surgeons. In addition to his new roles at SIGA, Dr. Rose will
become Executive Vice President - Life Sciences at MacAndrews & Forbes
Holdings Inc., a SIGA shareholder.
Chairman, Donald G. Drapkin, said, "Dr. Rose has agreed to become CEO of SIGA at
an important time for our Company. As a director Eric made major contributions
to the success of the Company's smallpox anti-viral, SIGA-246, and now, as CEO,
we believe that he will be instrumental in the regulatory approval and eventual
commercialization of the drug."
said, "I'm excited by the great potential of our smallpox anti-viral SIGA-246.
We are confident that SIGA-246 will become a major contributor in the battle
against potential biological terrorism. I look forward to working with our
Scientific Officer, Dr. Dennis Hruby, and his team in completing the development
and approval of SIGA-246 and moving forward the development of our other product
months, the Company has announced steady progress in both clinical development
and receipt of government commitments to further fund the development of
SIGA-246. In the clinic, the drug successfully completed its initial human
safety trial. In a primate trial, the drug demonstrated complete prevention
smallpox disease. In two additional primate trials, SIGA-246 afforded complete
protection against the monkeypox virus, a closely related disease that is even
more virulent in that species. SIGA has also announced the receipt of over
million in additional grants from the National Institutes of Health to fund
future SIGA-246 activities and advances in other drug programs.
SIGA Technologies, Inc.
Technologies is applying viral and bacterial genomics and sophisticated
computational modeling in the design and development of novel products for
prevention and treatment of serious infectious diseases, with an emphasis on
products for biological warfare defense. SIGA believes that it is a leader
the development of pharmaceutical agents and vaccines to fight potential
biowarfare pathogens. In
addition to smallpox, SIGA has antiviral programs targeting other Category
pathogens, including arenaviruses (Lassa
fever, Junin, Machupo, Guanarito, Sabia, and lymphocytic choriomeningitis),
dengue virus, and the filoviruses (Ebola and Marburg). SIGA's
product development programs also emphasize the increasingly serious problem
drug resistant bacteria.
information about SIGA, please visit SIGA's Web site at www.siga.com.
Press Release contains or implies 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
continued development of such products. Forward-looking statements are based
management's estimates, assumptions and projections, and are subject to
uncertainties, many of which are beyond the control of SIGA. Actual results
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 anticipated funding for its development
projects or other needed funding, (d) SIGA may not be able to secure
funding from anticipated government contracts and grants, (e) SIGA may not
able to secure or enforce adequate legal protection, including patent protection
for its products and (f) regulatory approval for SIGA's products may
require further or additional testing that will delay or prevent approval.
detailed information about SIGA and risk factors that may affect the realization
of forward-looking statements, including the forward-looking statements in
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, 2005, 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.
Forward-looking statements speak only as to the date they are made, and, except
for any obligation under the U.S. federal securities laws, SIGA undertakes
obligation to publicly update any forward-looking statement as a result of
information, future events or otherwise.