AMARILLO, Texas, Feb. 5 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- After a 10-week delay
caused by the anthrax threat to the U.S. mail in the nation's capital,
Amarillo Biosciences, Inc. (OTC Bulletin Board: AMAR) (ABI), will soon be
issued a long-sought patent for its oral formulation of interferon alpha.
"Receipt of this patent is extremely important for us," said Dr. Joseph M.
Cummins, President and CEO of ABI, which already has a portfolio of 20 issued
patents in the medical and pharmaceutical fields. "Now, no one else will be
able to produce a lozenge or tablet with interferon alpha without risk of
infringing this patent, which will provide protection for the low dose oral
delivery of interferon for 17 years from the date of issue."
ABI had expected the patent to issue earlier, having received a Notice of
an Allowance of Claims from the U.S. Patent & Trademark Office (PTO) last year
and having submitted the required issue fee to the PTO on October 30.
However, because mail deliveries to Washington, D.C., were held up for
decontamination due to the anthrax scare, the issue fee was not received by
the PTO until January 10, 2002. Patents typically issue within 2-3 months of
payment of the issue fee.
Dr. Cummins also noted another step for the Company, announcing that ABI
has received an additional $500,000 in funding through a private placement.
One million unregistered common ABI shares were sold at $0.50 per share,
netting the Company $450,000 after deducting selling expenses. The funds will
supplement license fees and sales receipts of $485,000 received in September
and help support ongoing Company operations, sales efforts and research trials
in an effort to attain profitability in 2002.
About Amarillo Biosciences, Inc.
Amarillo Biosciences, Inc. is a pioneer in the research of low dose,
orally-administered interferon alpha as a treatment for a variety of
conditions including Sjogren's syndrome, fibromyalgia syndrome, Behcet's
disease, hepatitis B and C, and opportunistic infections in patients who are
HIV positive. Additional information is available on the Amarillo
Biosciences, Inc. web site at http://www.amarbio.com .
Except for the historical information contained herein, the matters
discussed in this news release are forward-looking statements that involve
risks and uncertainties, including uncertainties related to product
development, uncertainties related to the need for regulatory and other
government approvals, dependence on proprietary technology, uncertainty of
market acceptance of oral interferon alpha or the Company's other product
candidates and other risks detailed from time to time in the Company's filings
with the Securities and Exchange Commission. In particular, see "Item 1.
Description of Business" of the Company's Form 10-KSB for the year ended
December 31, 2000.
SOURCE Amarillo Biosciences, Inc.
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Related links:
http://www.amarbio.com
Company News On-Call:
http://www.prnewswire.com/comp/118055.html
CONTACT:
Dr. Joseph M. Cummins, President & CEO of
Amarillo Biosciences, Inc., +1-806-376-1741, ext. 13
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