NEW YORK, Aug. 31, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- SIGA Technologies, Inc. (SIGA) (NASDAQ: SIGA), a commercial-stage pharmaceutical company focused on the health security market, today announced that Dr. Dennis Hruby, SIGA’s Chief Scientific Officer, has been named a recipient of the 2021 American Society for Microbiology (ASM) Award for Applied and Biotechnological Research. The award recognizes an outstanding scientist with distinguished research achievements in the development of products, processes and technologies that have advanced the microbial sciences.
"It is an honor to receive this prestigious award, especially given the high quality of microbial research being conducted in academic and corporate laboratories around the world,” said Dr. Hruby. “The current COVID-19 pandemic underscores the importance of continued research into microbial diseases and the urgent need to be prepared to respond effectively both to novel infectious agents and historic scourges such as smallpox. ASM and its members have a critical role to play in achieving this goal and I am proud that my work on the development of TPOXX has warranted their recognition.”
“On behalf of everyone at SIGA, I would like to congratulate Dennis on receiving this award and well-deserved recognition,” said Dr. Phil Gomez, CEO of SIGA. “Dennis’ research has been instrumental in advancing not only SIGA’s product development and regulatory activities, but also the field of microbial sciences as a whole. SIGA is committed to working with experts like Dennis and our collaborators in the U.S. government and the biopharmaceutical industry to expand the opportunities for TPOXX and advance global biopreparedness.”
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 supply of TPOXX under Project BioShield. The oral formulation of TPOXX was approved by the FDA for the treatment of smallpox in 2018. The full label is available by clicking here. In September 2018, SIGA signed a $51.6M contract with $577M in options with the Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority (BARDA), part of the office of the Assistant Secretary for Preparedness and Response within the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, 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 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.
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1 http://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/smallpox/basics/definition/con-20022769
Source: SIGA Technologies Inc.