SIGA Selected for the Procurement of Smallpox Antiviral Drug for the Strategic National Stockpile and Responds to Small Business Size Protest
NEW YORK, Oct 13, 2010 (GlobeNewswire via COMTEX) -- SIGA Technologies, Inc., a company specializing in the development of pharmaceutical agents to combat bio-warfare pathogens, announced today that the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) has announced HHS's intention to make an award to SIGA of a contract to deliver 1.7 million courses of its smallpox antiviral for the Strategic National Stockpile, pending resolution of issues relating to SIGA's status with the Small Business Administration. The award relates to a Request for Proposal issued by HHS's Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority (RFP-BARDA-09-35). The base contract, if finalized, is expected to generate revenues of approximately $500 million, and the entire contract, if all options are exercised, is expected to generate revenues of approximately $2.8 billion.
The Small Business Administration issues noted above derive from HHS notification to SIGA that Chimerix, Inc. (Chimerix) has filed a small business size protest against SIGA after receiving pre-award notice from HHS that Chimerix was an unsuccessful bidder. HHS designated the proposed contract as a small business set-aside at the time of the original solicitation in March 2009. SIGA intends to respond promptly to the Small Business Administration concerning Chimerix's protest.
Dr. Eric A. Rose, SIGA's Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, stated, "We are very proud that HHS has selected our groundbreaking drug, ST-246(R), for this important acquisition and believe that SIGA appropriately qualified as a small business concern for this procurement."
Details of HHS's March 11, 2009 request for proposal and subsequent amendments can be found on the Federal Business Opportunities website at www.fbo.gov/index?s=opportunity&mode=form&id=61e7acbe316f2c52bfe0cc8c4b4852fd&tab=core&_cview=1. SIGA expects the proposed contract to be executed following resolution of the Chimerix protest; however, there can be no assurance concerning the outcome of the small business size protest.
About SIGA Technologies, Inc.
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. SIGA believes that it is a leader in the development of pharmaceutical agents to fight potential bio-warfare pathogens. SIGA has antiviral programs targeting smallpox and other Category A pathogens, including arenaviruses (Lassa fever, Junin, Machupo, Guanarito, Sabia, and lymphocytic choriomeningitis), dengue virus, and the filoviruses (Ebola and Marburg). For more information about SIGA, please visit SIGA's web site at http://www.siga.com/.