CITY OF INDUSTRY, Calif., Nov. 15 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- U.S. BioDefense, Inc. announced today that it is working with the National Institutes of Health to commercially evaluate its Universal Viral Inactivation Method. The company is also seeking major commercial partners to utilize the inactivation method to explore the development of a special vaccine to combat the bird flu and the potential occurrence of an influenza pandemic.
U.S. BioDefense, Inc. is commercially evaluating a method that may lead to exploring the development of special vaccines that will utilize new methods rather than the current technique, which may be more effective against new strains of Viruses. Current techniques are dependent upon developing vaccines from cultures of a weakened pathogen, which can still result in the development of symptoms and illness even after vaccination. U.S. BioDefense, Inc. hopes to make safe vaccines quicker by utilizing a viral inactivation method where the structural and conformational integrity of the virus is preserved while the functionality of the virus is inactivated.
“It is our belief that we need to act now before an influenza pandemic is at hand. By utilizing a new method, we can potentially generate vaccines that are more effective than current ones at a faster rate,” said Dr. Cyndi Chen, Director of Research.
Vaccination against pathogens has been one of the major accomplishments of medicine in the past century. While effective vaccines have been developed for a large number of diseases, development of a safe and effective vaccine for a number of diseases remain problematic. The use of inactivated or killed microbial agents as a vaccine, although generally safe, will not always be effective if the immunogenic characteristics of the agents are altered. On the other hand, while the preparation of live attenuated microbial agents as a vaccine will often provide improved immunologic reactivity, use of such live microbial agents has an increased risk that the vaccine itself will be infectious. It is therefore desirable to provide methods for inactivating agents such as virus where the methods are capable of inactivating these agents without causing substantial degradation of the structure of the agent. In particular, the inactivated agents should be useful as vaccines and free from adverse side effects.
Bird flu (avian influenza) occurs naturally among birds and is highly contagious among domesticated birds, including chickens, ducks, and turkeys. Bird flu viruses do not usually infect humans, but several cases of human infection with bird flu viruses have repeatedly occurred since 1997. Of the many different subtypes of type A influenza viruses, influenza A (H5N1) virus that circulates among birds worldwide has been constantly changing over time and is now feared to be the virus that will spread among humans.
The last major pandemic occurred in 1918. The virus that swept the globe that year came to be known as the Spanish flu and was the deadliest influenza pandemic in modern times, killing millions worldwide. Scientists believe that the lethal virus originated in birds but mutated to attack humans. The fear now is that the H5N1 virus now scourging flocks in Southeast Asia could make a similar jump, and perhaps pose a similar catastrophic treat. Since 2003, the H5N1 bird flu virus has killed 64 people in Asia. The outbreak continues in eight countries in Asia (Cambodia, China, Indonesia, Japan, Laos, South Korea, Thailand, and Vietnam) and has recently spread to several more countries including Malaysia, Mongolia, and Siberia. So far, the H5N1 virus has not spread from person to person. However, because all influenza viruses have the ability to change, there are concerns that the H5N1 virus can one day infect humans and spread easily. If the H5N1 virus were able to infect people and spread easily from person to person, an influenza pandemic (worldwide outbreak of disease) could begin.
No one can predict when a pandemic might occur. We can only prepare for the possibility that a pandemic might occur and make preparations for it. Currently, there is no commercially available vaccine to protect humans against the H5N1 virus that is being seen in Asia and Europe. However, vaccine development efforts are taking place. According to WHO, the global health agency already has stockpiled 3 million antivirals that can be quickly deployed. However, WHO estimates that it needs enough vaccine for 6.4 billion people in the case of a pandemic. WHO has determined it is possible to produce 900 million vaccines in 8 months after the viral strain is identified. But, that vaccine would come 4 months too late as the virus will have rapidly mutated. Therefore, there is a need for the development of a special vaccine to be able to reach the target of global, equitable, and timely access.
Forward-Looking Statements
Included in this release are certain “forward-looking” statements, involving risks and uncertainties, which are covered by the safe harbor provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995, including statements regarding U.S. BioDefense’s financial performance. Such statements are based on management’s current expectations and are subject to certain factors, risks and uncertainties that may cause actual results, events and performance to differ materially from those referred to or implied by such statements. In addition, actual future results may differ materially from those anticipated, depending on a variety of factors, including continued maintenance of favorable license arrangements, success of market research identifying new product opportunities, successful introduction of new products, continued product innovation, the success of enhancements to U.S. BioDefense’s brand image, sales and earnings growth, ability to attract and retain key personnel, and general economic conditions affecting consumer spending, including uncertainties relating to global political conditions, such as terrorism. Information with respect to important factors that should be considered is contained in U.S. BioDefense’s Annual Report on Form 10-K as filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements, which speak only as of the date hereof. U.S. BioDefense does not intend to update any of the forward-looking statements after the date of this release to conform these statements to actual results or to changes in its expectations, except as may be required by law.
U.S. BioDefense, Inc. David Chin 626-961-0562 info@usbiodefense.com
U.S. BioDefense, Inc.
CONTACT: David Chin of U.S. BioDefense, Inc., +1-626-961-0562,info@usbiodefense.com
