Orban Biotech Awarded $244,000 Qualifying Therapeutic Discovery Grant From U.S. Government

BROOKLINE, MA--(Marketwire - November 16, 2010) - Orban Biotech, a privately held company developing a novel therapeutic vaccine for the treatment and prevention of Type 1 Diabetes Mellitus (TIDM), announced today that it was awarded a $244,000 grant under the U.S Government's Qualifying Therapeutic Discovery Project ("QTDP") program. The QTDP program provides funding support for projects with potential for the prevention, diagnosis and treatment of acute and chronic diseases. The award selection process also took into consideration those projects which demonstrate the greatest potential to succeed and to create and sustain high paying, high quality U.S. jobs and to advance the U.S. competitiveness in the life sciences.

"We are pleased that Orban Biotech's therapeutic vaccine has been recognized by this program for its potential to treat Type 1 diabetes and other autoimmune disorders," stated Dr. Tihamer Orban, Chief Executive Officer of Orban Biotech. "Our insulin B chain drug has already completed a Phase I study with promising results and the drug is now poised to move into a Phase II study."

Presently there is no cure or approved treatments for T1DM autoimmunity. T1DM primarily strikes out at children and the autoimmune destruction results in a lifelong dependence on daily injections or infusions of insulin. Those afflicted with T1DM face the challenge of tightly controlling blood sugar to minimize acute and late, often life threatening complications.

Orban Biotech's insulin B chain vaccine targets the root cause of T1DM itself: the loss of self tolerance and the resultant progressive destruction of insulin-producing beta cells. The loss of self tolerance to insulin, a primary autoantigen in T1DM unleashes autoagressive T cells and initiates the autoimmunity. The Company's insulin B chain vaccine is designed to function by re-establishing self-tolerance towards insulin, thus arresting autoimmune destruction and preserving self-insulin production. This approach is especially desirable and well suited for young children because the drug is type 1 diabetes specific with the capacity to induce self tolerance without suppressing the immune system. The Phase I study (October 2009 Journal of Autoimmunity) demonstrated safety and the vaccine induced a desirable, robust and lasting immune response in the treatment group.

About Orban Biotech (www.orbanbiotech.com)

Based in Brookline MA, Orban Biotech is a clinical stage biotechnology company founded with the clear mission of developing and commercializing a novel therapeutic vaccine for Type 1 Diabetes Mellitus (T1DM) and other autoimmune disorders. The Company's insulin B chain vaccine is result of the many years of research by Dr. Tihamer Orban and his colleagues at the Joslin Diabetes Center aimed at gaining a better understanding of the immulogical mechanisms underlying T1DM. The Company overriding goal is to find a cure or therapy for T1DM to help improve the quality of life for children afflicted by this disease by working "with the patients for the patients."