Medizone International, Inc. Announces Funding Program, Scientific Progress and Future Intentions
Tue May 23 21:00:00 EDT 2000
SAN FRANCISCO, May 23, 2000 /PRNewswire via COMTEX/ -- Medizone International,
Inc. (OTC Bulletin Board: MZEI) today announces receipt of an Unconditional
Funding Commitment from the Groundell Trust, an Asian-Pacific philanthropic
investment group. The Agreement provides for a placement of $10 million dollars
US on the sale of 2,000,000 shares of the Company's stock valued at $5 per
share. The Trust has agreed to place an additional $10 million dollars with the
Company in 2001. That placement will be valued at a price scaled to the
Company's performance.
Globally, hepatitis C, a lipid enveloped viral disease, is now of epidemic
proportion with an estimated 300 million cases. The numbers for the United
States suggest approximately 4 million people are infected. Hepatitis is now
expected to rival and perhaps surpass HIV/AIDS as one of the most prolific viral
killers over the next 10 years.
Dr. William Hitt, a recently retired Medizone International board member, has
been working with ozone for more than two years during the course of his normal
medical practice in Mexico. While outside the auspices of the United States FDA,
and conducted without a blind control group, the success obtained by
practitioners at the William Hitt Center in treating hepatitis C with ozone has
been extremely encouraging. In a sampling of test results from 8 patients, in
which post treatment follow-up information was available, viral loads by
Polymerase Chain Reaction, taken at the onset of ozone therapy, then repeated
following completion of the therapy were compared. An average viral load
reduction of 5 log, or 99.96% was achieved. At the onset of treatment seven of
the eight patients also had elevated liver enzyme levels as measured by SGOT and
SGPT. Following ozone therapy all of the SGOT (AST) U/L and SGPT (ALT) U/L
measures fell into the normal range. This pilot trial without a blind control
group, conducted in an off shore setting, must be viewed as anecdotal. On the
other hand, all of the laboratory work was done at FDA approved reference
laboratories in the United States to assure statistical reliability. The pilot
trial program has given the Company a great opportunity to define treatment
dosages, frequency and protocols. While ozone has been used for many years in
Europe and other parts of the world in various modalities, Medizone believes
that the protocols, dosages and patented delivery system it is developing will
soon prove to be the standard for the world.
Of great interest to the Company were the results of a 6-month post treatment
follow up test of viral load. Starting with the low post treatment figures
already obtained, all 8 patients continued to show declines in viral load count
that averaged 62.5% in the 6-month post treatment follow-up period without the
benefit of additional ozone therapy. Although it is somewhat premature to
speculate on why this viral reduction would continue to occur well into the
follow-up period, the Company believes that with the correct ozone treatment
parameters involving concentration, exposure time, temperature, and route of
administration, direct viral inactivation and humoral and cell mediated immune
responses can be significantly enhanced. These changes become cumulative over
time rendering the body more capable of effectively mounting an appropriate
immune response that ultimately will either clear the infection or at least
bring it back into control. Consistent with other reports of responsibly
practiced ozone therapy by medical professionals, no measurable toxic side
effects have been reported or observed. In this study, all symptomatic
complaints including fatigue disappeared and all subjects returned to normal
lifestyles.
Now that a funding program has been made available to the Company, it intends to
pursue a research agenda in Canada, beginning with hepatitis C. The necessary
submissions to the Canadian authorities for permission to proceed will be
forthcoming from the Company in the near future. In the late 80's and early 90's
Medizone was involved with an ozone research program in Canada with the Canadian
Department of Defense Blood Forces Program. Since that time Canada has also
developed a serious hepatitis problem. Canada is a tier 1 country that now has
harmonized regulatory requirements with the United States FDA. The Company looks
forward to renewing its Canadian relationships through our wholly owned
subsidiary, Medizone Canada Ltd., which will be making submissions to the Health
Protection Branch. The new Executive Director of Medizone Canada, Ltd., who will
head the Canadian program and also serve as a Senior Vice President to Medizone
International and member of the Board of Directors will be announced in June
following the resignation period from his current position. Following the
proposed initial trials involving hepatitis, the Company will seek to expand its
Canadian research agenda to address other lipid enveloped viral diseases such as
HIV/AIDS, etc. This funding program will be sufficient to complete all of the
trials necessary to obtain initial regulatory approval for the Company's human
anti-viral treatment program.
Medizone International, Inc., is a research and development stage company
engaged in the development of an ozone based treatment for diseases caused by
lipid enveloped viruses, including Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome (AIDS),
Hepatitis B & C, Herpes and the development of its patented technology for the
decontamination of blood, blood products and veterinarian serum products. The
Company has recently been granted a new patent for the external application of
its Medizone technology to treat external pathogenic conditions.
This Press Release contains certain forward-looking statements about the
Company's goals, expectations, intentions and anticipated future performance.
The industry in which the Company proposes to operate is dynamic and intensely
competitive and there are many factors that could cause the forward-looking
statements contained herein not to occur or the timing of their occurrence to be
delayed. With the exception of historical information, the matters discussed in
this report are forward looking statements that involve substantial risks and
uncertainties, including, but not limited to, the results of ongoing clinical
studies, economic conditions, product and technology development, production
efficiencies, product demand, competitive products and competitive environment,
successful testing, government regulatory issues and risks identified in the
Company's filings made with the Securities and Exchange Commission.
SOURCE Medizone International, Inc.
CONTACT: Jill Marshall of Medizone International, Inc., 415-868-0300, or
operations@medizoneint.com
URL: medizoneint.com
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