NEW YORK, June 25 /PRNewswire/ -- SIGA Technologies, Inc. (Nasdaq: SIGA)
today announced the appointment of Philip N. Sussman as President and Chief
Executive officer of SIGA.
"It is important for emerging biopharmaceutical companies to combine
cutting edge research and technology with professional management," said
Donald G. Drapkin, Chairman of SIGA. "I am confident that Philip Sussman's
experience in licensing technologies and in structuring strategic alliances
with pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies will provide the necessary
platform for SIGA's success."
Mr. Drapkin, Vice-Chairman of MacAndrews & Forbes Holdings, Inc.,
explained that Mr. Sussman's appointment at SIGA was a direct result of the
reconstitution of SIGA's management and board of directors in April 2001, at
which time Mr. Drapkin assumed the position of Chairman of SIGA. Coincident
with Mr. Sussman's appointment, Eric A. Rose, M.D., Chairman of the Department
of Surgery and Surgeon-in-Chief of Columbia-Presbyterian Center of New York
Presbyterian Hospital, relinquishes his position as Interim CEO of SIGA,
remaining a director.
Mr. Sussman was previously Executive Vice President -- Corporate
Development at Memory Pharmaceuticals Corp., a privately held
biopharmaceutical company. From 1993 to 1999 he was an officer at Cadus
Pharmaceutical Corporation, rising to the position of Senior Vice President --
Finance and Corporate Development & Chief Financial Officer. Prior to that he
was Director of Strategy and Business Development at Ciba-Geigy Corp.'s (now
Novartis Corp.) Pharmaceuticals Division.
Mr. Sussman is a member of the Review Panel for the Innovative Technology
Research Grant Program, Center for Biotechnology, New York State Science and
Technology Foundation. He is also an author of recent articles in Scrip
Magazine, The Journal of BioLaw & Business, and Journal of Commercial
Biotechnology, where he is a member of the Editorial Board. He holds an S.M.
in management with a concentration in finance from the Sloan School of
Management at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, an M.S. degree in
Biotechnology from Manhattan College, and a B.S. in Physics from the State
University of New York at Stony Brook.
SIGA is identifying and developing novel anti-infective agents based on
its pioneering research in the field of bacterial surface proteins, structures
used by bacteria to initiate and maintain an infection. Drug candidates that
interfere with surface protein expression are expected to be effective against
a wide range of disease-causing bacteria, including antibiotic resistant
bacteria, by blocking the attachment of bacteria to human tissue, the first
step in the infection process. By comparison, antibiotics available today act
by interfering with either the structure or the metabolism of a bacterial
cell, affecting its ability to survive and to reproduce. No currently
available antibiotics target the attachment of a bacterium to its target
tissue. Once prevented from attaching to and colonizing human tissue,
bacteria are readily cleared by the body's immune system.
This news release contains forward-looking statements that involve risks
and uncertainties. Such forward-looking statements include statements
regarding the efficacy and intended utilization of the company's technologies
under development. Such statements are only predictions and the company's
actual results may differ materially from those anticipated in these
forward-looking statements. Factors that may cause such differences include
the risk that potential products that appeared promising in early research or
clinical trials to the company or its collaborators do not demonstrate
efficacy or safety in subsequent pre-clinical or clinical trials, and the risk
that the company or its collaborators will not obtain approval to market
products emanating from such trials. For more information about SIGA
Technologies, please visit our website at: http://www.siga.com
SOURCE SIGA Technologies, Inc.
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Related links:
http://www.siga.com
CONTACT:
Vicki Ciampa of Global Impact Communications,
212-481-9080 for SIGA Technologies, Inc.; or Thomas N. Konatich
of SIGA Technologies, Inc., 212-672-9100
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