Col. Dr. Sergei Bankoul, M.D., Swiss Armed Forces Logistics, Medical Services Directorate, Head of Medical CBRN Defense of the Armed Forces and Senior Consultant to the Swiss Surgeon General, Major General Andreas Stettbacher, said, "The Ebola outbreak has killed more than 1,000 people and we are very concerned about its further spread. As the WHO has said, the flood of patients indicates the outbreak could be far more severe than numbers show. Given the scientific basis of Ebola's lethality and the potential ability of Alferon and Ampligen to both possibly replenish and restore an Ebola patient's interferon capability, we are eager to commence testing of these two products." Col. Bankoul went on to say that "The Spiez Lab's also intends to use its new and extensive capabilities to evaluate the possibly broad therapeutic potential of Alferon and Ampligen against a wide range of deadly viruses."
Early events in Ebola virus infection influence the patient's ability to develop an effective immune response. The success of Ebola virus replication is dependent on viral inhibition of initial innate immune responses to infection. Disarming innate immune responses is a common mechanism employed by highly pathogenic human viruses that include the influenza and corona viral families. Ebola counteracts the host innate immune response by blocking the cellular production of Type I IFN.
A key component of innate immune responses is activation of the Toll-like receptors (TLRs). TLR3 activation by dsRNA is an essential response element to viral infection. Block TLR3 activation and an essential element of the innate immune response is disarmed. Ampligen, Poly I:Poly C12U (rintatolimod) was designed as an IFN inducer and has demonstrated antiviral activity in a wide variety of DNA and RNA viruses in pre-clinical testing. By replenishing an Ebola patient's natural interferon with Alferon and restoring that patient's innate immune response by Ampligen's overcoming the Ebola blocking mechanisms, Ebola virus replication could be potentially significantly reduced.
Tom Equels, Executive Vice Chairman of Hemispherx, said, "We are excited to offer Alferon N and Ampligen as a potential therapeutic for the treatment of Ebola and other lethal viruses for which there is an unmet medical need. Should these important experiments being conducted at Spiez Lab render positive results, Hemispherx has the potential to provide large quantities of these products from its GMP facility in New Brunswick, New Jersey. Given that other potential treatments cannot be supplied in quantity, Hemispherx hopes to be a major contributor to minimizing the effects of this outbreak."
