June 11, 2009 (FinancialWire) — SIGA Technologies, Inc. (NASDAQ: SIGA), a company specializing in the development of pharmaceutical agents to fight biowarfare pathogens, was informed by the Defense Threat Reduction Agency that its Phase II proposal entitled “Therapeutic Countermeasures Against CDC Category A and B Threat Agents” has been selected for an award of funding.

The award is subject to negotiation of a final contract with DTRA, which informed SIGA that it expects contract signing and the beginning of funding to occur 90-120 days following initiation of negotiations.

Viruses designated “Category A” and “Category B” by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention can generate high morbidity and mortality, and many of these viruses are endemic in areas where U.S. military personnel may be deployed.

SIGA’s proposal, submitted in 2008, sought funding for preclinical development and IND filing of its identified lead compound, ST-669, a broad spectrum antiviral that has demonstrated in vitro antiviral activity against several different viral families. SIGA filed its proposal in response to a Broad Agency Announcement from DTRA soliciting proposals. DTRA is a unit of the U.S. Department of Defense. More information on this solicitation can be found on the Federal Business Opportunities website, including at the following link: https: //www.fbo.gov/index?s=opportunity&;mode=form&id=e9784ee888a8fdc7f63d84f193664069&tab=core&_cview=1.

Dr. Eric Rose, SIGA’s CEO, commented, “We look forward to the opportunity to expand our work on our ST-669 program. We applaud the government for this recognition of our efforts to date and the support for emerging companies like SIGA as they develop novel compounds that one day will hopefully benefit the world at large.”

Dr. Dennis Hruby, SIGA’s chief scientific officer, stated, “ST-669 has shown early promise against some of the most dangerous and deadly viruses in the world TODAY. We are gratified to have been selected for this award. We hope that ST-669 or an analogue may one day develop into a compound that will help treat or prevent diseases like Ebola, Hantavirus, Lassa Fever, Rift Valley Fever and other dangerous hemorrhagic viral diseases.

“In our work predating this selection, we identified ST-669 as a candidate compound with sub-micromolar in vitro antiviral properties against a potentially broad spectrum of Category A and B threat agents including viruses in the Poxviridae, Filoviridae, Bunyaviridae, Arenaviridae, Flaviviridae, Togaviridae, Retroviridae, and Picornaviridae families.”

DTRA was founded in 1998 to integrate and focus the capabilities of the Department of Defense that address the WMD threat. SIGA Technologies is applying viral and bacterial genomics and sophisticated computational modeling 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.

FinancialWire(tm) is a fully independent, proprietary news wire service. FinancialWire(tm) is not a press release service, and receives no compensation for its news, opinions or distributions. Further disclosure is at the FinancialWire(tm) web site (http://www.financialwire.net/disclosures.php). Contact FinancialWire(tm) directly via inquiries@financialwire.net.

Free annual reports for companies mentioned in the news are available through the Free Annual Reports Service (http://investrend.ar.wilink.com/?level=279).

Legal Disclaimer:

EIN Presswire provides this news content "as is" without warranty of any kind. We do not accept any responsibility or liability for the accuracy, content, images, videos, licenses, completeness, legality, or reliability of the information contained in this article. If you have any complaints or copyright issues related to this article, kindly contact the author above.