SIGA Technologies (NASDAQ:SIGA) just announced a regulatory go-ahead from the U.K. for its monkeypox treatment. Despite the seemingly good news, however, SIGA stock started dropping in early trading today.
SIGA has prior experience in treating diseases that end in “pox.” The company’s lead product is TPOXX, or tecovirimat. It’s an antiviral drug for treating human smallpox disease.
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) first approved the oral formulation of TPOXX in 2018 for the treatment of smallpox. The European Medicines Agency (EMA) also approved tecovirimat this year.
Lately, though it’s not smallpox in the headlines. The disease top-of-mind right now — besides Covid-19 — is monkeypox. So, today’s news that oral tecovirimat has been approved by U.K. regulators for treating monkeypox should be great, right? Along with monkeypox, the treatment has also been approved for smallpox, cowpox and certain “vaccinia complications.”
What’s Happening with SIGA Stock?
Sometimes, price moves in the markets can be downright counterintuitive. Today, SIGA stock is sliding fast, down about 8% as of this writing. Now below $13, investors may be wondering why Wall Street is reacting so negatively to the U.K. approval of SIGA’s monkeypox treatment.
Perhaps it’s because the approval wasn’t a huge surprise. Bear in mind, Health Canada approved the same formulation of tecovirimat for the treatment of smallpox in 2021. The FDA did the same thing in 2018. So, really the U.K. approval was practically inevitable.
Scouring Twitter (NYSE:TWTR) and other social media hasn’t yielded any new revelations about this development. That said, SIGA Technologies reportedly announced an order for its monkeypox treatment valued at $13 million back in June. So, it’s possible the initial reaction to today’s approval news was “wrong” and SIGA stock will rebound. At least, that’s what the bulls are likely hoping for.
On the date of publication, David Moadel did not hold (either directly or indirectly) any positions in the securities mentioned in this article. The opinions expressed in this article are those of the writer, subject to the InvestorPlace.com Publishing Guidelines.
