SIGA Statement Regarding Comments Made by Former Employee Dr. Jay Varma

Over the past several days, inaccurate and misleading comments made by Dr. Jay Varma, as well as questionable conduct he engaged in while leading New York City's COVID-19 response, have come to light. We are deeply angered by his comments and behavior which do not reflect SIGA, the way we do business or our values. As a result of his conduct and lack of judgment, Dr. Varma was terminated from SIGA Technologies on September 19, 2024. He is no longer affiliated with SIGA in any way.

His recent comments regarding SIGA and TPOXX represent his personal views and relate to areas of our business for which he was not responsible during his one year as a SIGA employee. TPOXX (tecovirimat) was developed over the course of a decade in coordination with various industry and government partners. Supported by robust clinical data, TPOXX was approved in the U.S. in 2018 for the treatment of smallpox. Based on studies completed to date, we strongly believe in the effectiveness of TPOXX as a treatment for orthopoxviruses, including mpox. As announced in a press release on August 15, 2024, while the PALM 007 clinical trial did not meet its primary endpoint, results did show that tecovirimat is safe and may benefit patients with severe disease and those who seek treatment early.

Our focus remains on developing important medicines to prevent and treat emerging infectious diseases with high unmet medical needs.

Additional Information on TPOXX (tecovirimat)
TPOXX (tecovirimat) was approved by the FDA in 2018 for the treatment of smallpox and by the EU and UK in 2022 for the treatment of smallpox and mpox. It has been administered to more than 8,000 patients worldwide for compassionate use. Mpox represents a significant area of unmet need in global health with no approved therapies available in the U.S. to treat infected patients. In August 2024, the topline results of the PALM 007 clinical trial of TPOXX for the treatment of mpox in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) were released. As with many antivirals, patients taking tecovirimat appear to benefit most when treatment is administered as soon as possible after infection. For additional information about the PALM 007 study, click here.