NEW YORK, May 5, 2011 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- SIGA Technologies, Inc. (Nasdaq:SIGA), a company specializing in the development of pharmaceutical agents to fight biodefense pathogens, today reported its financial results for the quarter ended March 31, 2011.
Revenue for the three months ended March 31, 2011 was $1.7 million, compared to $5.1 million in the first quarter of 2010, and the operating loss for the quarter was $6.5 million, compared to $3.0 million for the comparable period last year. Net loss per share, which includes non-operational items such as adjustments to the fair market valuation of certain warrants, was $0.09 and $0.11 for the quarters ended March 31, 2011 and 2010, respectively.
In addition to reporting financial results, SIGA is also reporting that it has been awarded a $6.5 million grant from the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases ("NIAID"), which is part of the National Institutes of Health. SIGA plans to use proceeds from the grant to fund continuing development of antiviral therapeutics for dengue virus.
Key Financial Results for First Quarter 2011
Revenues
For the first quarter 2011, revenue from research and development ("R&D") grants and contracts was $1.7 million, compared to $5.1 million for the year-earlier period. The decrease of $3.4 million is primarily due to a $3.2 million decrease in grant and contract revenue related to the ST-246® program. Grant usage for the ST-246® program has slowed this quarter as resources have been focused on low-cost data analysis in preparation of submitting study reports to regulatory authorities.
Research and Development
Research and development ("R&D") expenses were $3.6 million for the three months ended March 31, 2011, a decrease of $2.2 million from the $5.8 million incurred for the three months ended March 31, 2010. The decrease is mainly due to a $3.0 million decrease in ST-246® - related expenditures. Offsetting the decrease in ST-246® expenditures was a $496,000 increase in employee-related compensation expense. This increase was mostly due to the hiring of additional R&D personnel.
Selling, General and Administrative Expenses
Selling, general and administrative ("SG&A") expenses for the three months ended March 31, 2011 and 2010 were $4.3 million and $2.0 million, respectively, reflecting an increase of approximately $2.3 million. The increase is primarily attributable to a $1.4 million increase in employee compensation expenses and a $722,000 increase in legal expenses. In turn, employee compensation expenses increased mainly due to $961,000 of non-cash stock-based compensation.
Patent Preparation Expenses
Patent preparation expenses for the quarter were $342,000, compared to $320,000 for the same period last year. The increase of $22,000 is related to the Company's efforts to protect ST-246® in expanded geographic territories.
Financial Condition and Liquidity
Cash, cash equivalents and short-term investments on March 31, 2011 were $18.8 million, compared to $21.3 million on December 31, 2010.
Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q
SIGA is filing today with the Securities and Exchange Commission its First Quarter Report on Form 10-Q for the quarterly period ended March 31, 2011. SIGA urges its investors to read this quarterly filing as well as its Annual Report on Form 10-K, also filed with the SEC, for further details concerning the Company. The First Quarter Report on Form 10-Q and the Annual Report on Form 10-K are also available on the Company's website, at
About SIGA Technologies, Inc.
In the United States and around the world, populations face a serious but unmet need for drugs to protect against potentially catastrophic emerging viral pathogens and biological weapons of mass destruction. SIGA Technologies, Inc. is a pharmaceutical company specializing in the development and commercialization of therapeutic solutions for some of the most lethal disease causing pathogens in the world - smallpox, Ebola, dengue, Lassa fever and other dangerous viruses. Our business is to discover, develop, manufacture and successfully commercialize drugs to prevent and treat these high priority threats. Our mission is to disarm dreaded viral diseases and create robust, modern biodefense countermeasures. For more information about SIGA, please visit SIGA's web site at .
The SIGA Technologies, Inc. logo is available at
Forward-looking Statements
This press release contains certain "forward-looking statements"' within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995, as amended, including statements regarding the safety and efficacy of potential products, the progress of its development programs and timelines for bringing such products to market, the pursuit of the BARDA Smallpox RFP and the availability of funding sources for continued development of such products. Forward-looking statements are based on management's estimates, assumptions and projections, and are subject to uncertainties, many of which are beyond the control of SIGA. Actual results may differ materially from those anticipated in any forward-looking statement. Factors that may cause such differences include (i) the risk that potential products that appear promising to SIGA or its collaborators cannot be shown to be efficacious or safe in subsequent pre-clinical or clinical trials, (ii) the risk that SIGA or its collaborators will not obtain appropriate or necessary governmental approvals to market these or other potential products, (iii) the risk that SIGA may not be able to obtain anticipated funding for its development projects or other needed funding, (iv) the risk that SIGA may not be able to secure funding from anticipated government contracts and grants, (v) the risk that SIGA may not be able to secure or enforce sufficient legal rights in its products, including patent protection, for its products, (vi) the risk that any challenge to our patent and other property rights, if adversely determined, could affect our business and, even if determined favorably, could be costly, (vii) the risk that regulatory requirements applicable to SIGA's products may result in the need for further or additional testing or documentation that will delay or prevent seeking or obtaining needed approvals to market these products, (viii) the risk that the U.S. Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority ("BARDA") may not complete a procurement of a smallpox antiviral for the strategic national stockpile, or may complete it on terms other than those announced to date, (ix) the risk that any contractual award we may receive to supply a smallpox antiviral may be subject to one or more protests which may cause such contract award to be delayed or denied, (x) the risk that the volatile and competitive nature of the biotechnology industry may hamper SIGA's efforts, (xi) the risk that the changes in domestic and foreign economic and market conditions may adversely affect SIGA's ability to advance its research or its products, and (xii) the effect of federal, state, and foreign regulation on SIGA's businesses. More detailed information about SIGA and risk factors that may affect the realization of forward-looking statements, including the forward-looking statements in this presentation, is set forth in SIGA's filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission, including SIGA's Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2010, and in other documents that SIGA has filed with the SEC. SIGA urges investors and security holders to read those documents free of charge at the SEC's Web site at . Interested parties may also obtain those documents free of charge from
SIGA. Forward-looking statements speak only as of the date they are made, and except for our ongoing obligations under the United States of America federal securities laws, we undertake no obligation to publicly update any forward-looking statements whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.
CONTACT: KCSA Strategic Communications Todd Fromer / Marybeth Csaby 212-896-1215 / 1236 Tfromer@kcsa.com / mcsaby@kcsa.com
