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JULY 15th, 2005
NanoViricides, Inc. (Pink Sheets:NNVC), a company that is developing
a technology that selectively destroys viruses, and initially focused on the AIDS virus, has announced that the conditions
of its Series A Convertible Debenture to be offered to select investors.
Eugene Seymour, MD, CEO, on announcement of the terms, indicated
that the financing would enable the company to complete its HIV work, "The financing, when completed, is anticipated to be
sufficient to allow the Company to complete its HIV drug Hivicide 1 preclinical work, and bring it to the point of applying
for an IND with the Food and Drug Administration."
JULY 13th, 2005
Emphasizing that the most widely used medical treatments are based
on compounds derived from nature’s greenhouse, PhytoMedical Technologies, Inc. (OTCBB:PYTO), reported that it has entered
into an agreement with Fusion Capital Fund II, LLC to finance the development and commercialization of its plant derived pharmaceutical
and nutraceutical compounds.
Similar to Fusion Capital’s agreement with HepaLife, Fusion
Capital has agreed to purchase $10 million in common stock over a period of 25 months. The agreement, which is subject to
stipulations concerning the exact timing, price of the stock and amount of the investment, is expected to revolve around a
program that involves 25 monthly payments of $400,000.00 each.
Mr. Harmel S. Rayat, a Director of PhytoMedical Technologies and
also, HepaLife, commented on the investment and the PhytoMedical’s medical focus, "Fusion's unique and innovative financing
commitment will allow our Company to raise a significant amount of capital efficiently and on a cost effective basis from
a single institutional investor. Now our management team can focus on PhytoMedical's core research activities, expanding and
accelerating the scope of our science and working towards developing clinically approved products for two of the most devastating
disease states in America - diabetes and cachexia."
PhytoMedical also provided interesting statistics that illustrate
what may be lost as tropical rain forests are turned indiscriminately into barren landscapes. The company reports that an
estimated 300 important drugs still remain to be discovered from the 250,000 species of higher plants. The company says that
only 15 percent of the plants so far have been studied for bioactive compounds. Underscoring the point, PhytoMedical reports
that twenty of the best selling drugs come from natural plant sources.
Currently PhytoMedical is focused on the development of BDC-03,
a plant derived compound that has potential to fight Cachexia through the promotion of a lower fat percentage, lower cholesterol
and increased lean muscle mass. Cachexia, a real concern for those that have cancer or AIDs, can result in a lose up to 30
percent of lean muscle mass – a major factor that effects vital organs and often results in the death of the patient.
Cachexia is said to afflict 25 percent of all AIDs patients and
90 percent of all cancer patients.
The company also is focused on diabetes. An interesting result that
the company noted from a study published in Diabetes Care, from the American Diabetes Association, was that one gram of cinnamon
can lower blood sugar by an average of 18 to 29 percent. Significant reductions in triglycerides and LDL cholesterol were
also noted in the study. These positive effects lasted for at least 20 days after the cinnamon treatment was stopped. PhytoMedical
is currently working on synthesizing the active components in cinnamon.
JULY 8th, 2005
NanoViricides, Inc. (Pink Sheets:NNVC) as a better way to reflect
the company’s nanomedicine focus has changed its name from Edot-com.com, Inc. to NanoViricides, Inc. and stock symbol
from ECMM to NNVC - effective July 5, 2005.
NanoViricides, Inc. is developing nanomaterials for viral therapy
based on technologies developed by Theracour Pharma. The five viruses the company lists as targets include HIV, HCV, Herpes,
Asian (bird) flu and Influenza.
The company defines a NanoViricide as a nanoparticle that contains
an encapsulated active pharmaceutical ingredient, which is designed for a specific type of virus. The NanoViricide, once in
the blood stream, is designed to locate, attack and immobilize specific virus particles. Once the virus particle is immobilized,
perhaps analogous to an insect in a spider’s web, the active pharmaceutical ingredient is injected into the virus by
the NanoViricide particle. The injection results, like the spiders bite, in the death of the virus particle (through the collapse
of the virus cell wall). The company first plans the development of HIV drugs first, then to license to pharmaceutical companies
in 2006.
MAY 27th, 2005
Boehringer Ingelheim Pharmaceuticals, Inc. has reported that the
U.S. Food and Drug Administration's (FDA) Antiviral Drugs Advisory Committee has recommended the approval of its anti-HIV
drug tipranavir. Commenting on the approval and the clinical data review was Burkhard Blank, M.D., Senior Vice President,
Medical and Drug Regulatory Affairs at Boehringer, "We are pleased with the committee's recommendation and commend its thorough
discussion of the tipranavir clinical data. We look forward to working with the FDA on the comments raised by the Advisory
Committee and on the next steps of the application review process." Data was supplied to the FDA's advisory committee from
two Phase 3 clinical trials.
Boehringer presently provides tipranavir to eligible patients even
though it is not yet commercially available.
MAY 27th, 2005
Research Think Tank to License and Distribute HIV Drug
Resistance Test
Research Think Tank Inc. has entered into a three year licensing and distribution agreement
with Virvo BVBA. The agreement relates to blood analysis tests used to determine the response of HIV-1 to anti-retroviral
drugs. The Antivirogram and vircoTYPE technologies are expected to complement
Research Think Tanks services. According to Robert M. Lloyd JR,
CEO at Research Think Tank,
"Combining Virco's Antivirogram and vircoTYPE technologies with
Research Think Tank's current portfolio of HIV-1 resistance genotyping and supporting esoteric molecular testing significantly
strengthens our comprehensive menu of services. Furthermore, the convenience of combined testing services for HIV-1 phenotyping,
genotyping and/or vircoTYPE reporting under single test codes will be offered as the PhenoTanker-GT and GenoTanker-VT assays."
Research Think Tank lists its services as FDA approved testing for
Human Immunodeficiency Virus Type 1 (HIV-1), Human Immunodeficiency Virus Type 2 (HIV-2), Hepatitis A Virus (HAV), Hepatitis
B Virus (HBV), Hepatitis C Virus (HCV), Cytomegalovirus (CMV), as well as human genetic markers.
Virco BVBA, based in Belgium has applied its bioinformatics efforts
to phenotypic drug resistance testing as related to HIV disease management.
MAY 24th, 2005
Bolder BioTechnology Awarded Grant to Improve Infection
Fighting Properties of Interferon
In the never ending battle to fight infection, Boulder BioTechnology Inc. has been awarded
a $99,000 grant from the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) of The National Institutes of Health.
The grant is for the improvement of gamma interferon, a human protein. The overall goal is to further refine this protein
to improve the human immune system's ability to conquer infections.
APRIL 25th, 2005
NanoLogix, Inc., (Pink Sheets: IFEC), a nanobiotechnology company
focused on the test kits that enable the early detection of fatal diseases in order to disenfranchise the disease, released
a study that is said to confirm that disseminated MAC and M. simiae disease exist among AIDS patients. Paul Hyman, Ph.D. Dr.
Hyman, an investigator with NanoLogix, stated "With NanoLogix's Identikits, MAC could be detected significantly sooner than
expected for normal culture techniques."
Dr. Mitchell Felder, CEO of NanoLogix, explained the social-economic
benefits of the company's work, "Dr. Hyman's validation of NanoLogix's patented technology and the subsequent FDA registration
clearly show that we can identify a costly disease in a fraction of the time. These results may also have enormous implications
in the treatment of TB, AIDS and MAC sufferers, as antibiotic-sensitivity tests can now be performed early enough to make
a difference in these patients." A leading cause of death is AIDS patients according to the company are MAC related diseases.
The presence of MAC in an AIDS patient most often indicates that a patient has just four months to live.
Clinical Studies
Reveal Topically Applied Gel May Be Effective Treatment Against HIV and HSV
Human immunodeficiency virus
(HIV) and the herpes simplex virus (HSV), two well-known diseases, were inhibited with a topical microbicide according to
a study announced at the 12th Conference on Retroviruses and Opportunistic Infections. Microbicides are defined as a topical
applied formulation used to prevent sexually transmitted infections (STI).
PRO 2000, a candidate topical
microbicide, which Indevus Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ: IDEV), has had under development, was reported to retain activity
against the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) and the herpes simplex virus (HSV). In the study, the PRO 2000 gel reduced
both HIV and HSV infectivity by at least 1000-fold, according to the press release.
Marla Keller, M.D., Assistant
Professor of Medicine at the Mount Sinai School of Medicine reported the results of the data. The controlled study overseen
by Mount Sinai researchers involved 20 HIV infected women.
To determine if the gel
is an effective deterrent to the spread of HIV infection, a much larger controlled study is planned to further verify the
statistically significant initial results. These studies to be conducted throughout the world will involve over 10,000 women.
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