The Immune Response Corporation Announces
REMUNE(TM) Appears to Stimulate Broad Cross
Reactive Immune Responses to Several Different Strains Of HIV & The
Patient's Own Virus
REMUNE Shows Promise as a Universal Immunogen, Stimulates Both Killer And Helper T Cell
Activity
CARLSBAD, Calif., March 6 /PRNewswire/ -- The Immune Response Corporation (Nasdaq: IMNR - news) announced today
the presentation of new data appearing to demonstrate that people infected with HIV-1 who are treated with REMUNE(TM) (an
immune-based therapy consisting of whole inactivated HIV-1 virus depleted of its gp120 coat protein), and haart (highly active
antiretroviral therapy), can recognize and mount an immune response to their own HIV virus. ``Patients treated with REMUNE in
an open label research study at the San Diego Naval Medical Center, appeared to mount strong CD4 T helper cell proliferative
responses to their own virus,' Dr. Ronald Moss, VP of Medical and Scientific Affairs at the Company, told fellow scientists at the
recent UCLA 2000 Symposium on HIV/AIDS in Palm Springs, CA. ``Normally, CD4 T helper cell proliferation is tested only
against laboratory strains of the virus. The response to a laboratory strain, however, may not predict patients' ability to fight the
strain with which they are infected. The fact that the patients' CD4 T helper cells appeared to be able to mount an immune
response to their own as well as laboratory strains of HIV-1 also suggests that the immune response is directed at conserved
regions of the virus and is cross-reactive.'
To test whether REMUNE shows promise as a universal immunogen, the Company's scientists studied the proliferative response
to various strains (or clades) of the HIV-1 virus found throughout the world. The speed with which outside, or ``coat', regions of
the HIV-1 virus mutate has been a key obstacle to developing effective therapeutic vaccines against HIV, and different strains of
HIV-1 have emerged due to mutations in the outside of the virus. The data presented by Dr. Moss show that REMUNE treated
patients showed proliferative responses to several strains of the HIV-1 virus, including clade B (U.S. and Europe), clade E (Asia)
and clade C (which is considered to be the most common subtype of HIV-1 worldwide and is prevalent in Africa and Asia). This
suggests that REMUNE stimulates CD4 cells to recognize conserved inside, or ``core', regions of the virus, which do not mutate
as rapidly. REMUNE may therefore potentially serve as a universal immunogen. ``Our recently issued patents further strengthen
our intellectual property position for the development of products for both the treatment and prevention of HIV disease,' said
Dennis J. Carlo, Ph.D., President and CEO of The Immune Response Corporation.
Dr. Moss also presented data showing that a response of CD8 T ``killer' cells, which can destroy HIV-infected cells, was evident
in REMUNE-treated patients. This is especially promising since CD8 cell activity has been shown by some researchers to
decrease with potent antiviral drugs. In REMUNE treated patients, the levels of perforin and the chemokine MIP-1 Beta, which
are two major markers for CD8 cell activity, increased post-treatment. ``These data are consistent with other data which suggest
that CD4 T helper cells provide the orchestration for anti-HIV CD8 T cell responses. These results provide further support for the
ongoing studies of the effects of REMUNE on viral load,' Dr. Moss commented.
The Immune Response Corporation is a biopharmaceutical company based in Carlsbad, California, developing immune-based
therapies to induce specific T-cell responses for the treatment of HIV and autoimmune diseases. In addition, the Company is
working on cancer vaccines and gene therapy.
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