NIH to perform exploratory studies on ImmuneRegen BioSciences' Homspera

Jan 28 2010

ImmuneRegen BioSciences Inc.®, a wholly owned subsidiary of IR Biosciences Holdings Inc. (OTCBB: IRBS), today announced the execution of an agreement with the National Institute of Health (NIH) / National Cancer Institute (NCI) to commence studies utilizing ImmuneRegen's Homspera. Under the agreement, the NIH will perform exploratory studies on Homspera relating to mucosal immunity that might lead to subsequent evaluation in models of HIV infection.

Recent studies have found Homspera to be effective in enhancing the efficacy of a novel cancer vaccine, and previous studies have revealed efficacy in the space of infectious disease vaccines, specifically influenza. The studies to be performed at NIH/NCI are designed to expand on that research and further define the mechanisms that make Homspera an effective vaccine adjuvant.

The research will be directed by Jay A. Berzofsky, M.D., Ph.D., Chief of the Vaccine Branch at the Center for Cancer Research within the National Cancer Institute. Dr. Berzofsky has published over 435 scientific publications and has received a number of awards, including the U.S. Public Health Service Superior Service Award. He is the past President of the American Society for Clinical Investigation, and a Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science, and was elected Distinguished Alumnus of the Year for 2007 by the Albert Einstein College of Medicine. He was also elected Chair of the Medical Sciences Section of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) 2007-08. He most recently won the NIH Director's Award and NCI Merit Award in 2008.

"We are pleased that Dr. Berzofsky and his team are interested in evaluating the impact of Homspera on mucosal immunity, and hope this is the beginning of a relationship that takes our compound into a number of potential vaccine adjuvant studies," said Hal Siegel, Ph.D., ImmuneRegen's Chief Scientific Officer.