Siga shares fall on reports of Congressional investigation

(Reuters) - Shares of Siga Technologies Inc (SIGA.O) fell 8 percent Tuesday, a day after a media report said two Congressional committees were investigating the award of a multi-billion dollar government smallpox drug contract.

In a report late Monday, CNBC said the two committees were investigating whether financier Ron Perelman's political connections helped the company secure the deal.

Perelman controls about 30 percent of Siga's outstanding shares.

Last month, a unit of the United States Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) awarded Siga a contract worth up to $2.8 billion to supply its ST-246 smallpox antiviral to the U.S. Strategic National Stockpile.

"The news of a congressional investigation into the award of the smallpox contract to Siga is one more overhang that needs to be cleared, but it does not change the basic fact that (HHS) wants ST-246 and Siga is the only company that can supply it," said RBC Capital Markets analyst Jason Kantor in a note.

SIGA was not immediately available for comments.

Shares of the company were down 7 percent at $11.22 in morning trade on Tuesday on Nasdaq.

(Reporting by Anand Basu in Bangalore; Editing by Saumyadeb Chakrabarty)