SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. -- With the re-emergence of SARS
and another outbreak of Avian Flu in Asia, many government officials are
concerned the outbreaks will increase and a new epidemic will emerge. In
response to this threat, ImmuneRegen BioSciences, a wholly owned subsidiary of
IR Biosciences Holdings, Inc., recently completed
testing on the Hong Kong influenza virus, which is similar to that of SARS and
the Avian Flu. Company executives believe this research may indicate efficacy
of their proprietary compound, Homspera, in treating the Hong Kong respiratory
virus in mice. Additionally, company executives believe these test results
are vital to research designed to develop a treatment for SARS.
The study, conducted at the University of Arizona Lung Injury Laboratory
by Mark Witten, PhD, co-founder and acting head researcher of ImmuneRegen,
was performed on 31 mice. The results show that, of those mice treated
with Homspera, more than 90 percent survived the lung injury. The mice not treated with
Homspera had pathological signs of lung injury and showed actual Hong Kong
influenza virons in the lung tissue. Homspera-treated mice had normal airways
and no detectable Hong Kong influenza virons, which is an encouraging
development given fears that the Avian flu reported in Vietnam had crossed
with human flu genomes to produce a new strain of the virus -- a strain to
which humans may have no immune system recognition.
Witten has more than 20 years of experience in the research field and
over 200 peer-reviewed scientific publications. He spent two years as an
instructor of medicine at Harvard Medical School, where he conducted
additional research in Acute Respiratory Distress Syndrome (ARDS)/Acute Lung
Injury (ALI). In 1990, he became research assistant professor in the
Department of Pediatrics at the University of Arizona College of Medicine,
where he started his JP-8 inhalation toxicology research for the U.S. Air
Force Office of Scientific Research.
ImmuneRegen BioSciences, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of IR BioSciences
Holdings, Inc., is a biotechnology company engaged
in the research and development of applications utilizing modified
Substance P, a naturally occurring immunomodulator.
Source: ImmuneRegen BioSciences, Inc.
