P ublic Health Agency of Canada Contract would be Second Contract by a Canadian Governmental Agency for the Procurement of Oral TPOXX Delivery of 18,500 Courses by March 31, 2023; Delivery of Additional 14,800 Courses Subject to Option Exercise NEW YORK, Oct. 08, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- 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
- Public Health Agency of Canada Contract would be Second Contract by a Canadian Governmental Agency for the Procurement of Oral TPOXX
- Delivery of 18,500 Coursesby March 31, 2023; Delivery of Additional 14,800 CoursesSubject to Option Exercise
NEW YORK, Oct. 08, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- 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 issued an advanced contract award notice (ACAN), indicating that the PHAC intends to purchase up to 33,300 courses of oral TPOXX® (tecovirimat) within five years as specified in the ACAN, with 3,700 courses to be delivered by March 31, 2021; a cumulative total of 18,500 courses to be delivered by March 31, 2023; and an additional 14,800 courses to be delivered after March 31, 2023, subject to option exercise. The ACAN is required to remain open for at least 15 days, during which time a potential alternative supplier may submit a competing Statement of Capabilities. This ACAN 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 15,325 courses of oral TPOXX.
“We are pleased to see this ACAN from the Public Health Agency of Canada, which highlights the importance of smallpox preparedness for not only the military, but also for civilian populations. The COVID-19 pandemic has shown how devastating a pandemic can be to both human health and the economy, and it has highlighted that an effective therapeutic to mitigate the impact of a potential smallpox outbreak is critical. Both the United States and Canada have highlighted the importance of preparedness 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 Medical Technologies, Inc. and both the Department of Defence and the Health Agency to support procurement needs for TPOXX to protect Canada’s military and civilian populations.”
The value of courses to be sold to Canada will be disclosed upon any final award by the Canadian government. In any contract issued by Canada, Meridian Medical Technologies, Inc. (“Meridian”, a Pfizer Company) will be the counterparty to the contract and SIGA will be responsible for the manufacture and delivery of product.
The ACAN notice can be found at: https://buyandsell.gc.ca/procurement-data/tender-notice/PW-PH-896-79143
SIGA was also previously awarded separate funding by the Canadian authorities to support submission of an application for marketing authorization of oral TPOXX to Health Canada, which is targeted to be submitted by the end of 2020. SIGA anticipates approval in 2021.
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, 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.
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1 http://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/smallpox/basics/definition/con-20022769
