Hemispherx and Anderson Clinical Research to Combine Forces in New Initiative Against HIV Drug Resistant Strains

PHILADELPHIA (PROTEXT) - Hemispherx Biopharma, Inc. (Amex: HEB; HEBws) today announced that it was developing clinical programs with Anderson Clinical Research that are designed to address the growing problem of multi-drug resistance found in battling the AIDS epidemic both in the U.S. and worldwide. The programs will include the use of Ampligen(R), Hemispherx's lead compound, which is currently undergoing clinical trials in chronic viral infections. "We are very excited about the prospects for Ampligen(R) to fill a major void in our overall therapeutic approach to HIV. This excitement is based on our experience, not only with Ampligen(R), but other promising immunotherapeutics -- regrettably of which there are still too few at the advanced clinical level," said Roger Anderson, M.D., Chief Executive Officer and President of Anderson Clinical Research, Inc. Anderson Clinical Research, Inc., which is based in Pittsburgh, is a world-recognized clinical research organization that specializes in sponsoring clinical trials in AIDS and related immunological disorders. Anderson operates AIDS-related clinical trials for multinational pharmaceutical companies in eight major metropolitan locations in the U.S., excluding four treatment sites in New York City. William A. Carter, M.D., CEO, of Hemispherx commented: "The recent National Institutes of Health studies have recognized the critical need to boost the immune system if physicians are to gain truly long term ability to suppress HIV and purge residual HIV virus from the body. For example, just last year some 50,000 Americans initiated anti-HIV 'cocktails' and within 12 months there were more than 150,000 treatment switches within these newly started regimens. These numbers thus demonstrate the failures of our current treatment regimens which are due in large part to the development of drug resistance caused by viral mutation. Dr. Anderson and his team have a unique, broad experience with inserting immunotherapy along side the basic antiretroviral regimen to potentially dramatically improve the long term effectiveness." Hemispherx said these clinical programs with Anderson Clinical Research are a direct experimental outgrowth of comprehensive testing recently sponsored by Hemispherx through research grants at the University of California at Irvine and the California Institute of Molecular Medicine in Los Angeles, which have been facilitated by researchers at Vanderbilt University School of Medicine in Nashville, Tenn. Hemispherx said that the new comprehensive ex vivo tests, which will be presented at international AIDS research meetings in the United States and Europe within the next several weeks, are unique because each qualified research laboratory analyzed all fourteen FDA-approved antivirals at one time -- examining their relative antiviral strengths and comparing weaknesses as a first step to enhancing overall effectiveness. The experimental protocol represents the first time immunomodulatory drugs -- with a wholly new mechanism of action -- are being overlaid in a systematic manner on the traditional FDA approved antiviral 'cocktails' -- in an effort to overcome the growth of the emerging drug resistant HIV strains. Hemispherx said that the new clinical directions were crystallized at the September 27, 1999, Interscience Conference on Antimicrobial Agents and Chemotherapy meetings in San Francisco, in which members of multinational pharma sector and AIDS service organizations met with manufacturers of immune-based products, including Hemispherx, to devise new strategies. 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 risks of competition, changing market conditions, changes 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. Accordingly, actual results may differ materially from those in any forward-looking statements. ots Original Text Service: Hemispherx Biopharma, Inc. Internet: http://www.newsaktuell.de Contact: William A. Carter, M.D., CEO & Chairman of Hemispherx Biopharma, Inc., 215- 988-0080; or William Jenks, Institutional Investors, 212-232- 2222, or fax, 212-232-3232; or Harris Freedman, Investor Relations, 212-572-0763, or fax, 212-572-0764, both for Hemispherx Biopharma; or Roger Anderson of Anderson Clinical Research, 412-688-8448 Web site: http://www.hemispherx.com Subscribers please note that material bearing the slug "PROTEXT" is not part of CTK's news service and is not to be published under the "CTK" slug. Protext is a commercial service providing distribution of press releases from clients, who are identified in the text of Protext reports and who bear full responsibility for their contents. PROTEXT