The Aethlon Hemopurifier(R) Proves Effective In Capturing The Reconstructed Spanish Flu Of 1918 And H5N1 Avian Influenza Virus

Main Category: Flu / Cold / SARS
Also Included In: Bird Flu / Avian Flu
Article Date: 05 Jun 2008 - 3:00 PDT

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Aethlon Medical, Inc. (OTCBB:AEMD) announced that the Aethlon Hemopurifier® has proven effective in capturing the reconstructed Spanish Flu of 1918 virus (1918rv). During in vitro testing, high concentrations of 1918rv were rapidly depleted from cell culture fluid when circulated through the Hemopurifier®. The study documented that 76 percent of 1918rv was removed from circulation during the first two hours, and by the end of the sixth hour, 93 percent of 1918rv was cleared from circulation. The study data was quantified by reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (PCR). The Spanish Flu of 1918 is believed to have caused 40-50 million deaths during a two-year time span. The Hemopurifier® has also demonstrated effectiveness in capturing H5N1 avian influenza (bird flu). As previously disclosed, the Hemopurifier® removed up to 99.4 percent of infectious H5N1 virus from cell culture fluids during a six-hour testing period. Scientists are increasingly worried that H5N1 avian flu could mutate into a strain that triggers a global pandemic that rivals the Spanish Flu of 1918.

"Data against history's most lethal form of influenza and the looming H5N1 threat validates the Hemopurifier® as an innovative strategy to address current and future pandemic flu threats," stated Aethlon chairman and CEO, James A. Joyce. "The data is especially timely, as scientists have discovered that H5N1 virus has emerged to be resistant to the globally stockpiled drug Tamiflu," concluded Joyce.

The May 15, 2008 issue of the science journal Nature reported that researchers have confirmed that H5N1 avian influenza virus has mutated to become resistant to Tamiflu. As per the recommendation of the World Health Organization (WHO), Tamiflu is an antiviral drug agent that has been stockpiled by governments around the world as a potential treatment against pandemic influenza. Researchers now believe that viral mutation will necessitate a multi-pronged treatment approach against future flu pandemics, as antiviral drugs are unlikely to provide clinical benefit as stand-alone therapies. The Hemopurifier® holds promise to enhance the benefit of stockpiled drugs and future candidate therapies by clearing the viral strains from circulation that cause drug and vaccine resistance.

The Hemopurifier® is a broad-spectrum therapeutic device able to separate and then capture circulating viruses by glycoproteins that reside on their surface. In the case of pandemic influenza, the Hemopurifier® is able to separate and then capture circulating influenza virus by hemagglutinin (HA) and neuraminidase (NA) glycoproteins that reside on the virus surface regardless of mutation. As a result, the potential applications of the Hemopurifier® against pandemic influenza include:

- The Hemopurifier® is a first-line countermeasure against highly virulent strains of pandemic influenza that are untreatable with drug and vaccine therapies.

- The Hemopurifier® is an adjunct therapy that captures mutant strains of circulating influenza virus to strengthen the clinical benefit of candidate therapies, including stockpiled countermeasures that are unable to demonstrate treatment effectiveness in advance of a pandemic outbreak.

- The Hemopurifier® assists in the initial identification of emerging influenza strains through the concentration and capture of pandemic influenza viruses from the entire circulatory system of infected patients, thus directing the development of candidate drug and vaccine therapies towards the strain of influenza virus that sparks widespread infection.

- The Hemopurifier® may also address the needs of immunocompromised and at-risk populations, including children, pregnant women, and senior citizens for whom the administration of drugs or vaccines developed against pandemic influenza may be medically contraindicated.

The reconstructed 1918 influenza virus tested in Hemopurifier® in vitro studies, and depicted as 1918rv in this disclosure, was a recombinant virus with two genes (the HA and NA) from the 1918 strain of influenza along with six genes from the Texas 91 influenza strain. The resulting research virus is known as 1918 HA/NA:TX/36/91 in scientific literature. It is anticipated that the use of the Hemopurifier® will be directed only towards pandemic strains of influenza whose virulence is attributed by survival and spread in the circulatory system of infected patients. This does not preclude the use of the Hemopurifier® as a broad-spectrum countermeasure against other infectious disease and cancer treatment targets.

About Aethlon Medical

Aethlon Medical is the developer of the Hemopurifier®, a first-in-class medical device designed to treat infectious disease. The Hemopurifier® provides real-time therapeutic filtration of infectious viruses and immunosuppressive particles, and is positioned to address the treatment of drug and vaccine resistant viruses. Additionally, the device holds promise in cancer care, as research studies have verified the Hemopurifier® is able to capture immunosuppressive particles secreted by tumors. The Hemopurifier® is designed to act both as a stand-alone therapeutic, and as an adjunct treatment to enhance clinical benefit of established therapies. Pre-clinical studies conducted by researchers representing leading government and non-government health organizations both in the United States and abroad have documented the effectiveness of the Hemopurifier® in capturing from circulation the viruses that constitute pandemic threats, including H5N1 Avian Influenza (bird flu), and Dengue Hemorrhagic Fever (DHF) from circulation. The company is conducting studies to support the use of the Hemopurifier® as a broad-spectrum treatment countermeasure against bioterror threats, including Smallpox, and Ebola, Marburg, and Lassa hemorrhagic fever. Regulatory and commercialization initiatives in the United States are presently focused on bioterror threats, while international initiatives are directed toward naturally evolving pandemic threats, and chronic infectious disease conditions including the Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) and Hepatitis-C (HCV). Aethlon demonstrated the safety of the Hemopurifier® in a 24-treatment human study at the Apollo Hospital in Delhi, India, and is currently conducting further human studies at the Fortis Hospital, also located in Delhi. The company has submitted an investigational device exemption (IDE) to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to advance the Hemopurifier® as a broad-spectrum treatment countermeasure against category "A" bioterror threats. Additional information regarding Aethlon Medical and its Hemopurifier® technology is available online at http://www.aethlonmedical.com.

Certain of the statements herein may be forward-looking and involve risks and uncertainties. Such forward-looking statements involve assumptions, known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors which may cause the actual results, performance or achievements of Aethlon Medical, Inc to be materially different from any future results, performance, or achievements expressed or implied by the forward-looking statements. Such potential risks and uncertainties include, without limitation, the Company's ability to raise capital when needed, the Company's ability to complete the development of its planned products, the ability of the Company to obtain FDA and other regulatory approvals permitting the sale of its products, the Company's ability to manufacture its products and provide its services, the impact of government regulations, patent protection on the Company's proprietary technology, product liability exposure, uncertainty of market acceptance, competition, technological change, and other risk factors. In such instances, actual results could differ materially as a result of a variety of factors, including the risks associated with the effect of changing economic conditions and other risk factors detailed in the Company's Securities and Exchange Commission filings.

Aethlon Medical