Business Wire - September 15, 2006
"We are pleased to welcome Dr. Foght as a member of the board. His scientific background along with his financial expertise will be an important addition to our board as we advance the clinical programs of IRC's two lead immune-based therapies: NeuroVax(TM) for multiple sclerosis (MS) and IR103 for HIV/AIDS," said Dr. Joseph O'Neill, President and Chief Executive Officer of The Immune Response Corporation.
This February, The Immune Response Corporation announced a new corporate and clinical strategy designed to position the company for long-term success by accelerating the development of its most promising immune-based therapies. Since then, significant progress has been made against this new trajectory by raising substantial capital, presenting promising clinical data for both the MS and HIV products, and demonstrating dramatic yield improvements by their manufacturing facility. Completion of the first stage of enrollment of the IR103 Phase II clinical trials was announced in June and the company is poised to launch its Phase IIb trial for NeuroVax(TM) this fall.
"I am looking forward to working with the impressive management and scientific teams at The Immune Response Corporation," said Dr. Foght. "The company is investigating treatments in HIV and MS, two devastating diseases with significant unmet medical needs."
Dr. Foght was formerly a Managing Director in the Investment Banking division of Prudential Vector Healthcare Group, a unit of Prudential Securities Incorporated. He joined Prudential in July 1999 with the acquisition of Vector Securities International, Inc., which he co-founded in 1988.
Previously, Dr. Foght was Senior Vice President and Co-head of Kidder Peabody's Life Sciences/Medical Products Specialty Group. Prior to that, Dr. Foght spent 23 years with E.I. du Pont de Nemours & Co., spending half of his career in research and research management. He became Managing Director of du Pont U.K. in 1979, with responsibility for 4,000 employees and revenues of $700 million annually. In 1981, Dr. Foght was responsible for the planning and implementation of a de novo pharmaceutical business for du Pont in Europe, Africa, and the Middle East. His responsibilities included managing clinical research, regulatory affairs, licensing, manufacturing, and sales and distribution from headquarters in Frankfurt, Germany. Later, Dr. Foght established a worldwide Technology Evaluation and Acquisition Group for du Pont in the life sciences area.
Dr. Foght earned his M.S. and Ph.D. in organic chemistry with minors in biochemistry and microbiology from the University of Illinois and holds a B.S. from the University of Akron.
About The Immune Response Corporation
The Immune Response Corporation (OTCBB:IMNR) is an immuno-pharmaceutical company focused on developing products to treat autoimmune and infectious diseases. The Company's lead immune-based therapeutic product candidates are NeuroVax(TM) for the treatment of MS and IR103 for the treatment of HIV infection. Both of these therapies are in Phase II clinical development and are designed to stimulate pathogen-specific immune responses aimed at slowing or halting the rate of disease progression.
NeuroVax(TM), which is based on the Company's patented T-cell receptor (TCR) peptide technology, has shown potential clinical value in the treatment of relapsing forms of MS. NeuroVax(TM) has been shown to stimulate strong, disease-specific cell-mediated immunity in nearly all patients treated and appears to work by enhancing levels of FOXP3+ Treg cells that are able to down regulate the activity of pathogenic T-cells that cause MS. Increasing scientific findings have associated diminished levels of FOXP3+ Treg cell responses with the pathogenesis and progression of MS and other autoimmune diseases such as rheumatoid arthritis (RA), psoriasis and Crohn's disease. In addition to MS, the Company has open Investigational New Drug Applications (IND) with the FDA for clinical evaluation of TCR peptide-based immune-based therapies for RA and psoriasis.
IR103 is based on the Company's patented, whole-inactivated virus technology, co-invented by Dr. Jonas Salk and indicated to be safe and immunogenic in extensive clinical studies of REMUNE(R), the Company's first generation HIV product candidate. IR103 is a more potent formulation that combines its whole-inactivated antigen with a synthetic Toll-like receptor (TLR-9) agonist to create enhanced HIV-specific immune responses. The Company is currently testing IR103 in two Phase II clinical studies as a first-line treatment for drug-naive HIV-infected individuals not yet eligible for antiretroviral therapy according to current medical guidelines.
NeuroVax(TM) and IR103 are in clinical development by The Immune Response Corporation and are not approved by any regulatory agencies in any country at this time. Please visit The Immune Response Corporation at www.imnr.com.
This news release contains forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements are often signaled by forms of words such as should, could, will, might, plan, projection, forecast, expect, guidance, potential and developing. Actual results could vary materially from those expected due to a variety of risk factors, including whether the Company will continue as a going concern and successfully raise proceeds from financing activities sufficient to fund operations and additional clinical trials of NeuroVax(TM)or IR103, the uncertainty of successful completion of any such clinical trials, the fact that the Company has not succeeded in commercializing any drug, the risk that NeuroVax(TM)or IR103 might not prove to be effective as either a therapeutic or preventive vaccine, whether future trials will be conducted and whether the results of such trials will coincide with the results of NeuroVax(TM)or IR103 in preclinical trials and/or earlier clinical trials. A more extensive set of risks is set forth in The Immune Response Corporation's SEC filings including, but not limited to, its Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2005, and its subsequent Quarterly Reports filed on Form 10-Q. The Company undertakes no obligation to update the results of these forward-looking statements to reflect events or circumstances after today or to reflect the occurrence of unanticipated events.
REMUNE(R) is a registered trademark of The Immune Response Corporation. NeuroVax(TM) is a trademark of The Immune Response Corporation.
CONTACT: The Immune Response Corporation
Michael K. Green, 760-431-7080
info@imnr.com
or
Media Contact:
Chamberlain Communications Group Inc.
David Kyne, 212-884-0661
dkyne@chamberlainpr.com
or
Investor Contact:
ROI Associates
Robert Giordano, 212-495-0201
rgiordano@roiny.com
SOURCE: The Immune Response Corporation
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