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HEMISPHERX ANNOUNCES NEW APPROACH TO HIV-INHIBITION; TEST RESULTS SHOW POTENTIAL ADVANTAGES OF AMPLIGEN(R) AS ANTI-HIV AGENT
PHILADELPHIA, Dec 15, 1999 /PRNewswire via COMTEX/ -- Hemispherx
Biopharma, Inc. (Amex: HEB; HEBws) today announced that recent
independent laboratory test results show potential advantages of its
product Ampligen(R) as an anti-HIV agent.
According to findings presented today at the Immune-Based Therapy-2
(IBT-2) conference in Boston, 12 out of 14 drugs approved by the Food
and Drug Administration (FDA) as anti-HIV agents demonstrated
pronounced antiviral effectiveness with Ampligen(R), with no examples
of inhibiting the effectiveness of other drugs. Also, all members of
the newest class of powerful HIV inhibitors, termed protease
inhibitors, were enhanced by Ampligen. In fact, enhancement magnitudes
varied from several hundred percent enhancement to more than 800%
enhancement.
The new results, developed by independent researchers at the University
of California at Irvine, examined all 14 FDA-approved anti-HIV agents.
IBT-2 is a clinical/research workshop sponsored by a group of nine AIDS
service-and-research entities in the Boston area.
The new test-tube studies examined various concentrations of the
different drugs under conditions designed to simulate the clinical
situation in patients. Using a pharmacological approach termed "Mixed
Drug Effect Analyses," researchers determined whether a new drug
addition dramatically increased antiviral effectiveness (known as drug
synergy), had no effect whatsoever (known as neutral compound) or
inhibited the effectiveness of the other drugs (known as drug
antagonism).
"Pronounced antiviral synergy represents a potentially new therapeutic
approach to long-term suppression of HIV," said William A. Carter,
Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Hemispherx. "In recent years,
powerful drug cocktails have subdued the virus to undetectable levels
in many patients. But various studies have recently found that the
virus comes roaring back in the majority of patients because the virus
survived therapy by hiding in certain cells and tissues. Further
intensification of antiretroviral treatment by therapies that are less
toxic and complex are a promising avenue of investigation.
Double-stranded RNA technology, which includes Ampligen(R), represents
a mechanism of action distinctly different from that of the available
14 FDA-approved drugs."
Hemispherx Biopharma, Inc. is a biopharmaceutical company specializing
in new therapeutic approaches to HIV/AIDS, Chronic Fatigue Syndrome
(CFS) and hepatitis B/C utilizing the immune system. It has offices in
Philadelphia, Belgium and France and new drug development facilities in
the Washington, D.C., area. Hemispherx was recently listed on the
"Russell 2000" Index of small capitalization stocks.
Information contained in this news release other than historical
information, should be considered forward-looking and is subject to
various risk factors and uncertainties. For instance, the strategies
and operations of Hemispherx involve risks of competition, changing
market conditions, changes in laws and regulations affecting these
industries and numerous other factors discussed in this release and in
the Company's filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission.
Accordingly, actual results may differ materially from those in any
forward-looking statements.
sitors of this thread THE NEWS:
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