Strong avian flu data on Ampligen/Alferon

Hemispherx Biopharma, a US specialist in treatments for viral and immune-based chronic disorders, says that two of its investigational immunotherapeutics - Ampligen, a specifically-configured double-stranded RNA, and Alferon (interferon alfa-n3, human leukocyte-derived) - are potentially-useful against the H5N1 strain of influenza at the center of global pandemic fears.

The preclinical research indicates that Ampligen can provide cross-protection against avian flu viral mutations, as well as boosting the effectiveness 100-fold of Swiss drug major Roche's Tamiflu (oseltamivir) and UK pharmaceutical giant GlaxoSmithKline's Relenza (zanamivir), the only two drugs formally recognized for combating bird flu.

Other laboratory tests, in healthy human volunteers, indicate that Alferon Low-Dose Oral, a new delivery form of the anti-viral with prior regulatory approval for a category of sexually transmitted diseases, can stimulate genes that induce the production of interferon and other immune compounds, key building blocks in the body's defense system. Hemispherx, together with US governement scientists, presented the promising findings at the American Society for Microbiology Biodefense Research Meeting, held in Washington DC, on February 16.