HEB $3.38 booster improves Tamiflu @100X
Hemispherx Biopharma's Ampligen Boosts Tamiflu Potency
Peter Kang, 02.16.06, 9:02 AM ET Forbes.com
Hemispherx Biopharma announced today its experimental immune system booster Ampligen can enhance the effects of the avian influenza drug Tamiflu by a factor of up to 100.
Preclinical studies indicated that Tamiflu, when combined with Ampligen, achieved full inhibition of the H5N1 virus using just 1% to 2% of the Tamiflu needed to combat the virus on its own.
The tiny Philadelphia-based biotech presented the findings on Thursday in Washington, D.C., at a biodefense conference hosted by the American Society for Microbiology.
Tamiflu, an antiviral drug developed by Gilead Sciences (nasdaq: GILD - news - people ) and marketed by Roche, has been the most widely stockpiled drug by governments worldwide and is the current standard of care for avian bird flu. GlaxoSmithKline (nyse: GSK - news - people ) also markets a similar drug known as Relenza.
Hemispherx (amex: HEB - news - people ) also reported the potency of Relenza was increased by 500 times in lab experiments.
Health experts have voiced concerns in recent months regarding a potential Tamiflu shortage as well the chance the virus could mutate into other drug-resistant strains.
According to the preclinical data, Ampligen addresses both of these issues, at least in a laboratory setting.
"You can stretch a supply and, alternatively, if you're dealing with a resistant population, you wouldn't reduce the dosage so the effect would be much higher without the side effects of Tamiflu at high doses," said William Carter, chairman and chief executive of Hemispherx, in an interview.
In addition, Carter believes that a drug cocktail of Tamiflu and Ampligen would be able to overcome drug resistance in patients, based on studies in animals.
"The mutation of this virus, as it is spreads, is certainly mandating a need to build up a larger base of drugs," he added.
Although Ampligen is in early-stage development for avian flu, Hemispherx said it plans to file a new drug application with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration for the treatment of chronic fatigue syndrome in the third quarter of this year.
Griffin Securities, the lone research firm covering Hemispherx, wrote in a report last November that Ampligen is a "promising long-term solution for the avian challenge."
Recently, a team of scientists from the World Health Organization arrived in Nigeria after reports of a "highly pathogenic" bird-flu outbreak surfaced Feb. 6, the agency said.
So far, 169 humans have been infected with the H5N1 bird flu virus as of Feb. 13, according to WHO, with 91 deaths.
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