- Immune Response Receives Final $900,000 Payment Under 2004 Agreement -
CARLSBAD, Calif., Jan. 4 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- The Immune Response
Corporation (OTC Bulletin Board: IMRP), an immuno-pharmaceutical company
focused on developing products to treat autoimmune and infectious diseases,
announced today that it received a milestone payment of $900,000 from
NovaRx Corporation.
Immune Response in-licensed the development and marketing rights to the
Sidney Kimmel Cancer Center's patent portfolio for cancer cell line
vaccines. In August 2004, Immune Response then entered into an agreement
transferring those development and marketing rights to NovaRx Corporation,
a privately-held company dedicated to developing therapeutic vaccines to
treat cancer. This agreement called for, among other things, a $900,000
payment to Immune Response in August 2007, to be accelerated if NovaRx
achieved commercialization or financing milestones. NovaRx recently
achieved the financing milestone, and accordingly paid the $900,000.
"We are pleased with the progress NovaRx continues to make with the
cancer cell line vaccines," said Dr. Joseph O'Neill, President and CEO of
Immune Response. "In addition, this milestone payment further strengthens
our balance sheet which will enable us to further the progress of our key
products NeuroVax(TM), an investigational T-cell receptor (TCR) peptide
vaccine for the treatment of multiple sclerosis (MS), and IR103, for the
treatment of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), both of which are at
critical stages of their development."
About The Immune Response Corporation
The Immune Response Corporation (OTC Bulletin Board: IMRP) 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 disease
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 vaccine 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 may be a more potent formulation
that combines its whole-inactivated antigen with a synthetic Toll-like
receptor (TLR-9) agonist with the intent 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
http://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.
INVESTOR CONTACTS: COMPANY CONTACT:
Gene Marbach Michael K. Green, COO and CFO
Makovsky & Company The Immune Response Corporation
(212) 508-9645 (760) 431-7080
gmarbach@makovsky.com info@imnr.com
Robert Giordano
ROI Associates
(212) 495-0201
rgiordano@roiny.com
SOURCE The Immune Response Corporation
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Related links:
http://www.imnr.com
CONTACT:
Michael K. Green, COO and CFO of The Immune
Response Corporation, +1-760-431-7080, info@imnr.com; Gene
Marbach of Makovsky & Company, +1-212-508-9645,
gmarbach@makovsky.com, for The Immune Response Corporation; or
Robert Giordano of ROI Associates, +1-212-495-0201,
rgiordano@roiny.com, for The Immune Response Corporation
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