PHILADELPHIA, Nov. 10, 2010 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Hemispherx Biopharma, Inc. (NYSE Amex:HEB) announced today grant awards totaling $488,958 from the U.S. Department of Treasury in support of its Ampligen® and Alferon® development programs. These awards were approved by the Internal Revenue Service (IRS), in conjunction with the Department of Heath and Human Services (DHHS), under the Qualifying Therapeutic Discovery Project Program, established under the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act of 2010 for projects that showed significant potential to produce new and cost-saving therapies, support jobs and increase U.S. competitiveness. The amounts granted for these two Hemispherx projects were for the maximum per-project amount set by the IRS based on the limited amount of funds allocated for the program.
The Hemispherx Alferon® program grant application was based on the potential to show Alferon N Injection®, an FDA-approved treatment for refractory HPV, and Alferon® LDO (low dose oral), an experimental formulation, to be an efficacious and inexpensive preventative or treatment for seasonal and pandemic flu.
The Hemispherx Ampligen® grant application was based on the continuing development of Ampligen® (an experimental therapeutic with broad spectrum antiviral properties) in clinical programs in Chronic Fatigue Syndrome, (CFS) and as an adjuvant for seasonal / pandemic influenza vaccines and cancer immunotherapy.
About Hemispherx Biopharma
Hemispherx Biopharma, Inc. is an advanced specialty pharmaceutical company engaged in the clinical development of new drug entities for treatment of seriously debilitating disorders. Hemispherx' flagship products include Alferon N Injection® (FDA approved for a category of sexually transmitted diseases) and the experimental therapeutics Ampligen® and Alferon® LDO. Ampligen® represents experimental nucleic acids being developed for globally important debilitating diseases and disorders of the immune system. Hemispherx' platform technology includes agents 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 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. Neither the decision by the IRS to approve the grants described above, nor the planning, completion, results or submission of clinical trials imply that any development project will be successful or that any study product will ever be approved commercially for the studied or other treatment indications.