PHILADELPHIA, June 15, 2010 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Hemispherx Biopharma, Inc. (NYSE Amex:HEB) (the "Company" or "Hemispherx"), announced that the Company executed an exclusive revenue sharing Sales, Marketing, Distribution and Supply Agreement for Argentina with GP Pharm Latinoamerica ("GP Pharm"), an affiliate company of Spanish GP Pharm SA (www.gp-pharm.com). Under this Agreement, GP Pharm will be responsible for gaining regulatory approval in Argentina for Ampligen®, an experimental therapeutic, to treat Chronic Fatigue Syndrome ("CFS") in Argentina and for commercializing Ampligen® for this indication in Argentina. The Company has granted GP Pharm the right to expand rights to sell this experimental therapeutic into other Latin America countries based upon GP Pharm achieving certain performance milestones. The Company has also granted GP Pharm an option to market Alferon N Injection®, its FDA approved natural interferon, in Argentina and other Latin America countries as well. Under this Agreement, the Company will manufacture and supply Ampligen® to GP Pharm.
Thomas Kenwood Equels, recently appointed Executive Vice Chairman of Hemispherx and the leader of its world-wide marketing efforts, stated, "I am very pleased to have Hemispherx working with GP Pharm SA and their affiliates. Its Latin American Director, Jorge Braver, is a very experienced and effective pharmaceutical executive in Argentina and elsewhere in Latin America. I believe this relationship will eventually lead to opening large markets for Hemispherx's platform technologies in Latin America."
Mr. Braver of GP Pharm said, "Thousands of people suffer from ME/CFS (Myalgic Encephalomyelitis / Chronic Fatigue Syndrome), a particularly insidious disease for which there is no known cure, in Argentina and elsewhere in Latin America. We are looking forward to expanding our relationship with Hemispherx by undertaking the commercialization of Ampligen® in Latin America. We are also excited to have the opportunity to market the FDA approved product, Alferon N Injection®, a natural interferon with a proven track record of safety and historically demonstrated exceptional anti-viral capabilities, throughout Latin America."
About GP Pharm Argentina
GP Pharm SA headquarters are located in Barcelona, Spain with operations in each major country in Latin America either directly or through local partners. Its activities are focused on research, development and marketing of injectable products made by others and by GP Pharm SA based on its proprietary drug delivery systems including microspheres and liposomes. GP Pharm's new production plant recently achieved EU GMP approval and started manufacturing operations, producing the first batches of own products and also for some contract manufacturing partners. Its facilities are also designed to be FDA GMP compliant. GP Pharm also has a centralized free-zone distribution facility in Uruguay for its own products as well as its partners' products.
About Hemispherx Biopharma
Hemispherx Biopharma, Inc. is an advanced specialty pharmaceutical company engaged in the manufacture and clinical development of new drug entities for treatment of seriously debilitating disorders. Hemispherx's flagship products include Alferon N Injection® (FDA approved for a category of sexually transmitted diseases) and the experimental therapeutics Ampligen® and Alferon® LDO. Ampligen® is an experimental RNA nucleic acid being developed for globally important debilitating diseases and disorders of the immune system. Hemispherx's platform technology includes large and small agent components for potential treatment of various severely debilitating and life threatening diseases. Hemispherx has an extensive number of patents comprising its core intellectual property estate and a fully commercialized product (Alferon N Injection®). The Company wholly owns and exclusively operates a GMP certified manufacturing facility in the United States for commercial products. For more information please visit www.hemispherx.net.
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 risk of competition, changing market conditions, change 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. Any specifically referenced investigational drugs and associated technologies of the Company (including Ampligen® and Alferon® LDO) are experimental in nature and as such are not designated safe and effective by a regulatory authority for general use and are legally available only through clinical trials with the referenced disorders. The forward-looking statements represent the Company's judgment as of the date of this release. The Company disclaims, however, any intent or obligation to update these forward-looking statements. Clinical trials for other potential indications of the approved biologic Alferon N Injection® do not imply that the product will ever be specifically approved commercially for these other treatment indications.