Amarillo Biosciences Announces Completion Of Screening Process For Influenza Study In Australia

Main Category: Swine Flu
Also Included In: Clinical Trials / Drug Trials;  Respiratory / Asthma;  Flu / Cold / SARS
Article Date: 22 Jun 2009 - 5:00 PDT

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Amarillo Biosciences, Inc. (ABI) (OTCBB: AMAR) announced that the screening of volunteers for inclusion in a Phase 2 clinical study of the company's oral interferon product at the University of Western Australia is now complete. The investigators met their target of screening at least 200 healthy adults for participation in the trial. A total of 215 volunteers were evaluated and 134 of them have been enrolled into the study to date. About 90% of the screened subjects have been found to qualify for the study, so additional enrollments are expected over the next 2 weeks to bring the total number of study participants up to or above the targeted 160 subjects.

The double-blind, placebo-controlled Phase 2 clinical trial is being conducted by Dr. Manfred Beilharz and colleagues. The study is expected to show that lozenges containing a low dose of interferon-alpha can prevent infection or reduce the severity of infection with influenza and other common respiratory viruses when taken once a day during a typical winter cold/flu season.

Dr. Joseph Cummins, President and CEO of ABI, said, "We are pleased that Dr. Beilharz and his study team were able to achieve their goal of screening over 200 volunteers because this study is an important step in proving that our low-dose interferon lozenges can be a safe and effective alternative to antiviral drugs for influenza. New therapies like oral interferon are needed in the face of the ongoing swine flu pandemic, especially since the influenza virus has developed resistance in the past to currently marketed antiviral drugs."

Dr. Manfred Beilharz said, "The community spread of swine flu in Perth has gone from 0 to 80+ in 14 days, and that is only the confirmed cases. Over the next 3 months we here in Perth, Western Australia may well experience a reproduction of the community spread that is occurring in Melbourne, Victoria. If our lozenges work as well as we anticipate against swine flu, we will make a tremendous contribution to economical public health procedures."

Source
Amarillo Biosciences