Aethlon Medical, Inc. today disclosed that researchers have initiated testing of its Hemopurifier(R) as a candidate treatment against the H1N1 Swine Flu Virus. The Hemopurifier(R) is the first-in-class medical device to selectively adsorb viruses and immunosuppressive toxins from the bloodstream.
The device has been designed to enhance the benefit of antiviral drug regimens, and it provides a therapeutic option against infectious viruses not addressed by drug and vaccine therapies.
The studies, which are testing the effectiveness of the Hemopurifier(R) to capture the H1N1 virus, are being conducted at laboratories approved by the United States Department of Health and Human Services to house and conduct research on pandemic strains of H1N1 virus. The Hemopurifier(R) has previously proven effective in capturing the reconstructed Spanish flu of 1918 virus (1918rv) and the H5N1 avian influenza virus (Bird Flu). The Hemopurifier(R) represents a promising strategy to clear infectious H1N1 swine flu from the bloodstream as the device selectively captures influenza viruses by hemagglutinin (HA) and neuraminidase (NA) glycoproteins that coat the virus, even when influenza mutates to be resistant against drug and vaccine therapies.
The World Health Organization (WHO) now projects that two billion people, or one third of the world's population, will become infected by the virus before the end of the pandemic. Last week, WHO also reported that 1,154 swine flu victims have died since the virus emerged in April, including 338 deaths reported in the prior week alone. Additionally, six patients have recently been identified with viral strains resistant to treatment with Tamiflu, the stockpiled antiviral treatment for pandemic forms of influenza.
"Beyond surging death tolls and reports of drug resistance, the potential for the swine flu virus to mutate into a virulent and lethal form seems increasingly possible over the course of the two billion infections projected by WHO," stated Aethlon Chairman and CEO, Jim Joyce. "While our primary focus remains the treatment of Hepatitis-C virus (HCV), it is now appropriate and important that we take advantage of the opportunity to validate the capability of our Hemopurifier(R) against infectious H1N1 Swine flu virus," concluded Joyce.
Since the beginning of 2009, the Hemopurifier(R) has been demonstrated safe and effective in reducing patient viral load in both Hepatitis-C Virus (HCV) and Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) infections. As a result, Aethlon believes the Hemopurifier(R) is the first therapeutic candidate to demonstrate viral reduction benefit against two different viral species in human studies. Such data further reinforces the position of the Hemopurifier(R) as a leading broad-spectrum countermeasure against drug and vaccine resistant viruses. Should H1N1 Swine Flu evolve to be highly virulent and resistant to treatment stockpiles, the Hemopurifier(R) is positioned to become a first-line treatment countermeasure to strengthen the clinical benefit of both established and candidate drug treatments.
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