PHILADELPHIA, Aug. 17, 2015 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Hemispherx Biopharma, Inc. (NYSE:HEB) (the "Company" or "Hemispherx"), announced that as the Company works toward the re-launch of Alferon N, it has extended its agreement with Armada Health Care, LLC ("Armada") (www.armadahealthcare.com) for two years (through August 14 2017) for the sales/marketing of Alferon N Injection®, its Food and Drug Administration approved natural interferon, in the U.S. Under this Agreement, the Company will manufacture and supply Alferon N Injection® to physicians and patients through Armada's national network of specialty pharmacies. Armada has agreed to provide ongoing sales and marketing to support the product's re-launch. Specialty Distributor, BioRidge Pharma, LLC ("BRP"), has received a two year contract extension and will warehouse, ship, and distribute Alferon N Injection® on an exclusive basis for U.S. sales.
"We have closely followed Hemispherx progress in its major upgrade of the Alferon manufacturing facility and we are pleased that this is now complete and we can continue to work on preparing for the re-launch of Alferon N Injection®. As the only natural interferon approved in the U.S., we think Alferon N Injection® has great potential in our market", stated Ryan Oligino, Executive Vice President Manufacturer Relations, Armada Health Care.
Wayne Springate, Senior Vice President of Operations for Hemispherx, stated "This extended agreement with Armada is gratifying. As leaders in the specialty pharmaceutical field, Armada is the ideal partner for the marketing and distribution of Alferon N Injection®. Now with our upgrade work complete to include a high volume, state-of- the-art bioreactor for the manufacture of Alferon N Injection®, we hope to be able to supply greater volumes of product to the market than in the past. We are also establishing an in-house team to support Armada and to establish other sales channels for Alferon N Injection®, educate physicians and patients with the expectation to eventually drive sales in a growing and sustainable manner in the U.S., as well as in Europe, Latin America and Asia where we are actively seeking partners."
About Armada Health Care (Armada)
Armada Health Care, LLC (Armada) is the industry's largest specialty pharmacy group contracting and service organization. Armada provides comprehensive and cost-effective access to the nation's $100+ billion specialty pharmacy industry. Armada offers pharmacy providers, manufacturers, health plans and wholesale distributors a total channel management solution through customized patient programs, prescription data management services, online platforms, and unique cost effective purchasing agreements on specialty pharmacy products. Armada is also the founder and host of the nation's largest annual specialty pharmacy summit. For more information, visit Armada at www.armadahealthcare.com.
About Hemispherx Biopharma
Hemispherx Biopharma, Inc. is a specialty pharmaceutical company headquartered in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania and engaged in the clinical development of new drug therapies based on natural immune system enhancing technologies for the treatment of viral and immune based disorders. Hemispherx's flagship products include Alferon N Injection® 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, including Chronic Fatigue Syndrome. Hemispherx's platform technology includes components for potential treatment of various severely debilitating and life threatening diseases including cancers. Because both Ampligen® and Alferon LDO are experimental in nature, they are not designated safe and effective by a regulatory authority for general use and are legally available only through clinical trials. Hemispherx has patents comprising its core intellectual property estate and a fully commercialized product (Alferon N Injection®), approved for sale in the U.S. and Argentina. The FDA approval of Alferon N Injection® is limited to the treatment of refractory or recurrent external genital warts in patients 18 years of age or older. The Company's Alferon N Injection® approval in Argentina includes the use of Alferon N Injection® (under the brand name "Naturaferon") for use in any patients who fail, or become intolerant to recombinant interferon, including patients with chronic active hepatitis C infection. 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.
Disclosure Notice
The information in this press release includes certain "forward-looking" statements including without limitation statements about additional steps which the FDA may require and Hemispherx may take in continuing to seek commercial approval of the Ampligen® NDA for the treatment of Chronic Fatigue Syndrome in the United States. The production of new Alferon API inventory will not commence until the capital improvement and validation phases are complete. While the facility is approved by FDA under the Biological License Application ("BLA") for Alferon, this status will need to be reaffirmed upon the completion of the facility's enhancements prior to commercial sale of newly produced inventory product. If and when we obtain a reaffirmation of FDA BLA status and have begun production of new Alferon API, we will need FDA approval as to the quality and stability of the final product to allow commercial sales to resume. The final results of these and other ongoing activities could vary materially from Hemispherx's expectations and could adversely affect the chances for approval of the Ampligen® NDA in the United States and other countries. Any failure to satisfy the FDA regulatory requirements or the requirements of other countries could significantly delay, or preclude outright, approval of the Ampligen® NDA in the United States and other countries. The re-launch of Alferon N as a commercial product cannot commence until all regulatory approvals have been obtained.
Information contained in this news release, other than historical information, should be considered forward-looking and is subject to various risk factors and uncertainties including, but not limited to, general industry conditions and competition; general economic factors; the Company's ability to adequately fund its projects; the impact of pharmaceutical industry regulation and healthcare legislation in the United States and internationally; trends toward healthcare cost containment; technological advances, new products and patents attained by competitors; challenges inherent in new product development, including obtaining regulatory approval; the Company's ability to accurately predict the future market conditions; manufacturing difficulties or delays; dependence on the effectiveness of the Company's patents and other protections for products; and the exposure to litigation, including patent litigation, and/or regulatory actions; as well as numerous other factors discussed in this release and in the Company's filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The final results of these efforts could vary materially from Hemispherx's expectations. Finally, the projection of savings above is subject to change based upon operational requirements of the company and the possibility that additional finance and accounting staff may be required to accomplish the Company's goals and objectives.
Forward-Looking Statements
To the extent that statements in this press release are not strictly historical, all such statements are forward-looking, and are made pursuant to the safe harbor provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Words such as "intends," "plans," and similar expressions are intended to identify forward-looking statements. The inclusion of forward-looking statements should not be regarded as a representation by Hemispherx that any of its plans will be achieved. These forward-looking statements are neither promises nor guarantees of future performance, and are subject to a variety of risks and uncertainties, many of which are beyond Hemispherx's control, which could cause actual results to differ materially from those contemplated in these forward-looking statements. Examples of such risks and uncertainties include those set forth in the Disclosure Notice, above, as well as the risks described in Hemispherx's filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission, including the most recent reports on Forms 10-K, 10-Q and 8-K. You are cautioned not to place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements, which speak only as of the date hereof, and Hemispherx undertakes no obligation to update or revise the information contained in this press release, whether as a result of new information, future events or circumstances or otherwise revise or update this release to reflect events or circumstances after the date hereof.