SIGA asks court to disband committee and grant exclusivity extension

By Caroline Salls

Pittsburgh, April 29 – SIGA Technologies, Inc. asked the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of New York to disband the statutory creditors’ committee for its Chapter 11 case, according to an April 29 court filing.

As a result of the recent court approval of SIGA’s assumption of its contract with Albemarle Corp., the company said the committee of unsecured creditors will only consist of creditor PharmAthene, Inc.

“In addition to the fact that having a committee of one is a completely anomalous situation and totally antithetical to the express terms and intent of the Bankruptcy Code, PharmAthene should not be permitted to use a statutory fiduciary, the professional fees and expenses of which are funded by the debtor’s estate, to pursue its own parochial interests against its litigation adversary,” the company said in the motion.

“PharmAthene has demonstrated its obstructionist motives and utter lack of regard for maximizing SIGA’s value for the benefit of either the committee’s constituency or the debtor’s other economic stakeholders.”

In addition, SIGA said it is “inherently improper and incongruous for a debtor to be funding an official committee comprised of one creditor that has been the debtor’s adversary in litigation for more than eight years and that already has demonstrated its lack of concern for the committee’s fiduciary duties.”

The company said PharmAthene has more than adequate resources and is more than capable of representing its own interests in this case.

SIGA also requested an extension of its exclusive periods for filing and soliciting votes on a plan of reorganization. The company wants to extend the exclusive filing period through Sept. 30 from May 14 and the solicitation period through Nov. 20, 2015 from July 13.

According to the motion filed April 29, the pendency of SIGA’s appeal before the Delaware Supreme Court, which will be fully briefed by May 11, in connection with a lawsuit filed by PharmAthene in the Delaware Court of Chancery, “in and of itself constitutes more than ample cause for the requested extensions.”

A hearing on both motions is scheduled for May 13.

Based in New York, SIGA Technologies develops and commercializes solutions for serious unmet medical needs and biothreats. The company filed for bankruptcy on Sept. 16, 2014 under Chapter 11 case number 14-12623.

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