Agreement includes options for $9.9 million in additional funding over four years.

DoD awarded SIGA Technologies a $2.8 million contract with options for up to $9.9 million over four years to advance its preclinical antiviral. ST-669 has reportedly demonstrated in vitro activity against several different viral families.

The money was received from the DoD’s Transformational Medical Technologies Initiative (TMTI) through the Defense Threat Reduction Agency (DTRA). It is expected to support preclinical development and an IND filing.

ST-669 has shown submicromolar in vitro antiviral effects against viruses in the Poxviridae, Filoviridae, Bunyaviridae, Arenaviridae, Flaviviridae, Togaviridae, Retroviridae, and Picornaviridae families, SIGA reports. These viruses can generate high morbidity and mortality and many are endemic in areas where U.S. military personnel may be deployed.

“While still in the early stages of development, ST-669 is showing promise as a treatment for several dangerous diseases, and this award will help us further our development of this program,” notes Dennis Hruby, Ph.D., SIGA’s CSO. “There is a real need for a broad-spectrum antiviral like ST-669 to treat both the military and general population in the event of an outbreak. Although the disease itself may come from sources that are unpredictable, like a bioterror attack or an emerging virus, both origins highlight the necessity for a safe and effective countermeasure.”

SIGA applies viral and bacterial genomics and computational modeling to design and develop products for the prevention and treatment of infectious diseases, with an emphasis on products for biological warfare defense. It has preclinical antiviral programs targeting smallpox and other category A pathogens including arenaviruses (Lassa, Junin, Machupo, Guanarito, Sabia, and lymphocytic choriomeningitis), dengue virus, and filoviruses (Ebola and Marburg).

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