SIGA Appoints William C. Bevins And Frances Fragos Townsend To Board Of Directors

NEW YORK, March 14, 2011 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- SIGA Technologies, Inc. (Nasdaq:SIGA), a company specializing in the development of pharmaceutical agents to combat bio-warfare pathogens, announced today that William C. Bevins and Frances Fragos Townsend joined SIGA's Board of Directors.

Mr. Bevins, age 64, is currently President and Chief Executive Officer of Panavision Inc. and Senior Executive Vice President of MacAndrews & Forbes Holdings Inc. He has also held positions as President and Chief Executive Officer of Andrews Group Incorporated and its subsidiaries New World Communications Group Incorporated and Marvel Entertainment Group, Inc; as Chief Financial Officer of Turner Broadcasting System, Inc.; and as a CPA at Price Waterhouse & Co.

Ms. Townsend, age 49, is currently Senior Vice President of Worldwide Government, Legal and Business Affairs at MacAndrews & Forbes Holdings Inc. Prior to joining MacAndrews & Forbes, she was a partner at the international law firm Baker Botts, LLP following a distinguished career in government. Among her governmental responsibilities, Ms. Townsend was Assistant to President George W. Bush for Homeland Security and Counterterrorism; chair of the Homeland Security Council; Deputy Assistant to the President and Deputy National Security Advisor for Combating Terrorism; and first Assistant Commandant for Intelligence for the U.S. Coast Guard. In addition to her current responsibilities at MacAndrews & Forbes, Ms. Townsend is also a counterterrorism, national and homeland security expert for CNN and serves on numerous government advisory and nonprofit boards, chairs the Board of the Intelligence and National Security Alliance, and is a member of the Council on Foreign Relations and the Trilateral Commission.

"The experiences that Bill and Fran bring to the board will be tremendous assets in driving our near- and long-term objectives. Bill's business and leadership skills will be valuable in guiding our corporate development and our continuing drive to become a commercial-stage company. And Fran's extensive leadership experience within government will provide us with unique insights as we continue to develop and commercialize medical countermeasures to bioterrorism," commented Dr. Eric Rose, SIGA's Chairman and Chief Executive Officer. "We are fortunate to have such distinguished board members and look forward to their input."