PHILADELPHIA, Jan. 26, 2017 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Hemispherx Biopharma (NYSE MKT:HEB) announced today that an order of newly manufactured rintatolimod (Ampligen®) for sale utilizing the Early Access Program (EAP) in Europe has been shipped with receipt confirmed on January 26. In May 2016, the Company executed an amended and restated agreement with Impatients N.V., a Netherlands-based company operating as myTomorrows, for the commencement and management of an Early Access Program (EAP) in all of Europe and Turkey. Ampligen® is the trade name in the United States for rintatolimod.
“This new lot of rintatolimod (Ampligen®) will enable Chronic Fatigue Syndrome (CFS) and Pancreatic Cancer patients in the EU and Turkey, to access rintatolimod under early access regulations,” said Tom Equels, CEO of Hemispherx. “The shipment of new product that has been recently released for use in the initiated EAP is an important tangible step in our effort to make our experimental drug Ampligen® available to individuals with CFS and Pancreatic Cancer.”
About Rintatolimod
Rintatolimod is a member of a new class of specifically-configured ribonucleic acid (RNA) compounds targeted as potential treatment of diseases with immunologic defects and/or viral causation.
About Hemispherx Biopharma
Hemispherx Biopharma, Inc. is an advanced specialty pharmaceutical company engaged in the manufacture and clinical development of new drug entities for treatment of seriously debilitating disorders. Hemispherx’s flagship products include Alferon N Injection® and the experimental therapeutics Rintatolimod® (tradenames Ampligen® or Rintamod®) and Alferon® LDO. Rintatolimod 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. Because both Rintatolimod 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® approval in Argentina includes the use of Alferon N Injection® (under the pending brand name “Naturaferon”) for use in any patients who fail or become intolerant to recombinant interferon, including patients with chronic active hepatitis C infection. Rintamod® has received approval in the Argentine Republic to treat severe cases of Myalgic Encephalomyelitis/Chronic Fatigue Syndrome (ME/CFS). It will be marketed by GP Pharm, Hemispherx’s commercial partner in Latin America. 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.
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”, “potential”, “potentially”, “possible” 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, below, 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.