SAN DIEGO--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Aethlon Medical, Inc. (OTCBB:AEMD - News) announced today that it has exercised an option to exclusively license a pending patent entitled “Method to Inhibit Proliferation and Growth of Metastases” from The Trustees of Boston University. The license provides a rapid development strategy for new cancer therapies by uniting drug agents that inhibit the spread of cancer related metastases, with filtration techniques already proven in the Aethlon Hemopurifier®. The resulting devices would inhibit tumor growth by reducing the presence of circulating growth factors without interfering with surgical wound healing or the recovery of tissue injured by radiation therapy. While the market for anti-growth factor drug agents exceeds $5 billion, there remains a significant unmet clinical need, as these drug agents may not be indicated for use in conjunction with surgical procedures or radiation treatment as they inhibit wound healing and tissue recovery.
“The development of devices that capture growth factors that cause the spread of cancer reinforces our long-term strategy to build a cohesive product pipeline by leveraging filtration techniques evolved in the development of our Hemopurifier® in combination with affinity agents that allow us to pursue new market opportunities,” stated James A. Joyce, Chairman and CEO of Aethlon Medical.
The Aethlon Hemopurifier® is a first-in-class medical device that provides real-time therapeutic filtration of infectious viruses and immunosuppressive particles from circulation. The initial demonstration of safety in human combined with extensive supporting data from pre-clinical in vitro studies have positioned the Hemopurifier® to be a leading broad-spectrum treatment candidate against drug and vaccine resistant infectious diseases. The Hemopurifier® has also demonstrated in vitro effectiveness in capturing immunosuppressive proteins that are secreted by tumors and shed by viruses.
The development of a new class of devices that target the removal of circulating growth factors involves the immobilization of drug agents able to selectively bind vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF), fibroblast growth factor (FGF), platelet derived growth factor (PDGF), epidermal cell growth factor (EGF), or other growth factors once they have been separated from circulation within the device. The device mechanism expands the potential market opportunity for established drug agents and provides an early commercialization pathway for candidate drug agents able to serve as affinity agents in a lower burden medical device regulatory environment when compared to the immense challenges of commercializing oral or injectable drug agents. According to the California Biomedical Research Association (CBRA), only 5 of 5,000 drug candidates that begin pre-clinical testing will ever advance to human studies. Of these, only one becomes approved for human usage. The CBRA further references that drug agents take an average of 12 years and cost $359 million to move from the research lab to use in patients.
About Aethlon Medical
Aethlon Medical is the developer of the Hemopurifier®, a first-in-class medical device designed to treat infectious disease. The Hemopurifier® provides real-time therapeutic filtration of infectious viruses and immunosuppressive particles, and is positioned to address the treatment of drug and vaccine resistant viruses. Additionally, the device holds promise in cancer care, as research studies have verified the Hemopurifier® is able to capture immunosuppressive particles secreted by tumors. The Hemopurifier® is designed to act both as a stand-alone therapeutic, and as an adjunct treatment to enhance clinical benefit of established therapies. Pre-clinical studies conducted by researchers representing leading government and non-government health organizations both in the United States and abroad have documented the effectiveness of the Hemopurifier® in capturing from circulation the viruses that constitute pandemic threats, including H5N1 Avian Influenza (bird flu), and Dengue Hemorrhagic Fever (DHF). The company is conducting studies to support the use of the Hemopurifier® as a broad-spectrum treatment countermeasure against bioterror threats, including Smallpox, and Ebola, Marburg, and Lassa hemorrhagic fever. Regulatory and commercialization initiatives in the United States are presently focused on bioterror threats, while international initiatives are directed toward naturally evolving pandemic threats, and chronic infectious disease conditions including the Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) and Hepatitis-C (HCV). Aethlon demonstrated the safety of the Hemopurifier® in a 24-treatment human study at the Apollo Hospital in Delhi, India, and is currently conducting further human studies at the Fortis Hospital, also located in Delhi. The company has submitted an investigational device exemption (IDE) to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to advance the Hemopurifier® as a broad-spectrum treatment countermeasure against category “A” bioterror threats. Additional information regarding Aethlon Medical and its Hemopurifier® technology is available online at www.aethlonmedical.com.
Certain of the statements herein may be forward-looking and involve risks and uncertainties. Such forward-looking statements involve assumptions, known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that may cause the actual results, performance or achievements of Aethlon Medical, Inc. to be materially different from any future results, performance, or achievements expressed or implied by the forward-looking statements. Such potential risks and uncertainties include, without limitation, the Company’s ability to raise capital when needed, the Company’s ability to complete the development of its planned products, the ability of the Company to obtain FDA and other regulatory approvals permitting the sale of its products, the Company’s ability to manufacture its products and provide its services, the impact of government regulations, patent protection on the Company’s proprietary technology, product liability exposure, uncertainty of market acceptance, competition, technological change, and other risk factors. Additionally, there is no assurance that the Company will be the recipient of funding awards, grants, or contracts from any government agency. In such instances, actual results could differ materially as a result of a variety of factors, including the risks associated with the effect of changing economic conditions and other risk factors detailed in the Company’s Securities and Exchange Commission filings.
Contact:
Aethlon Medical, Inc. Cynthia Bond, Director of Investor Relations 858-735-0069 cbond@aethlonmedical.com
Source: Aethlon Medical, Inc.
