Siga gets $28 million antiviral drug orders as monkeypox spreads

[July 13, 2022]  (Reuters) -Drugmaker SIGA Technologies said on Tuesday it has received new orders worth about $28 million for its oral antiviral drug, as monkeypox cases spread globally.

The latest orders come at a time when more than 7,600 confirmed cases of monkeypox have been reported from 50 countries where the disease is not endemic.

Monkeypox, endemic in parts of Africa, is a viral disease that causes flu-like symptoms and skin lesions.

Siga's drug, Tpoxx, is approved in the European Union and United Kingdom to treat diseases caused by the family of orthopoxvirus that includes smallpox, monkeypox and cowpox.

Tpoxx is only approved to treat smallpox in the United States and Canada.

The new orders include $2 million worth of initial procurement from two countries in Europe and Asia Pacific as well as another $26 million from Canada under existing contracts, Siga said.

SIGA has received about $56 million of international orders for oral Tpoxx and the company expects at least $26 million of international deliveries by Sept. 30, including deliveries made in the second quarter.

"The increase over the last two months in international orders of oral Tpoxx reflects an initial public health reaction to the evolving monkeypox outbreak," said Chief Executive Officer Phil Gomez.

(Reporting by Mrinalika Roy in Bengaluru; Editing by Devika Syamnath)

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