PHILADELPHIA, Feb 11, 2000 /PRNewswire via COMTEX/ -- Hemispherx Biopharma,
Inc. (Amex: HEB; HEBws) announced that results published today in a leading
medical journal show a new one-step diagnostic test for Chronic Fatigue Syndrome
(CFS) in European programs has accurately identified this debilitating condition
in patients, which may thereby accelerate the overall process of effective
therapeutic intervention.
The breakthrough results, published in the peer-reviewed medical journal,
"American Journal of Medicine," are part of a study by leading researchers in
France and Belgium who are members of the Scientific Advisory Committee for
Hemispherx Europe. The researchers evaluated more than 100 patients with
different disorders under "blinded conditions" and found that a new biological
marker, which was targeted to CFS, was not evident in patients with other
fatiguing conditions such as fibromyalgia or depression.
CFS is a chronic debilitating condition characterized by disabling fatigue,
fever, myalgia and neurocognitive disturbances. Because a new diagnostic test
can identify CFS in patients, therapeutic intervention can take place much more
quickly. In fact, certain patients in this study who were diagnosed with CFS
using this new test received Ampligen(R), a new product for which Hemispherx
Europe has pending marketing applications in 15 European countries.
In related developments, Hemispherx said that the European Parliament recently
passed new laws which will accelerate the availability of specific treatments
for CFS, and EU member nations, including Italy and Belgium, are actively taking
new official regulatory steps to facilitate reimbursement of new medications,
which may potentially interrupt the natural history and devastating societal
impact of untreated CFS.
Hemispherx Biopharma, which is based in Philadelphia, is a pharmaceutical
company engaged in the manufacture and global clinical development of new drug
entities in the nucleic acid (NA) class for chronic viral diseases and disorders
of the immune system including CFS, HIV and hepatitis. Its flagship products are
Ampligen(R), which is being developed for CFS and drug-resistant HIV, and
polyadenur, which is being developed for hepatitis B and C.
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.
SOURCE Hemispherx Biopharma, Inc. |
