Siga smallpox drug begins human testing

The test will examine the safety and pharmacokinetics of Siga-246 at different dosages in healthy volunteers. The company said that it expects to collect all of the data from this study within the next month. The study is a double-blind, randomized, placebo-controlled, ascending single-dose study in healthy volunteers.

Siga-246 represents a new approach to achieve a novel, orally active, antiviral therapeutic. It has demonstrated significant antiviral activity in various animal models of poxvirus disease, including the complete protection of golden ground squirrels from lethal doses of monkeypox virus. The company believes that Siga-246 is the most advanced smallpox treatment currently in development.

Siga is focused on the design and development of novel products for the prevention and treatment of serious infectious diseases, with an emphasis on products for biological warfare defense.