YONKERS, N.Y., July 16 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Advanced Viral Research
Corp. (OTC Bulletin Board: ADVR) today announced that James F. Dicke II, a
member of the Company's Board of Directors, and Peter Lunder, a member of the
Company's Business Advisory Board, have made investments in the Company
totaling $1.5 million.
Mr. Dicke has purchased $1 million, and Mr. Lunder has purchased $500,000,
principal amount of the Company's Convertible Debentures at par in a private
placement. The principal balance of the Debentures are convertible into
shares of common stock as follows: 20% on the original issue date of the
Debentures and an additional 20% every six months thereafter. The conversion
price for each share of common stock will be equal to: (i) for the first 20%
of the principal balance of the Debenture, 90% of the closing bid price quoted
on the OTC Bulletin Board on the preceding trading day; and (ii) for the
remaining principal balance of the Debentures, the higher of 90% of the
average closing bid prices quoted on the OTC Bulletin Board during the five
trading days immediately preceding the applicable conversion date, or $0.10.
The shares issued upon conversion cannot be sold or transferred for a period
of one year from the applicable vesting date of the convertible portion of the
Debenture. The Debentures are due in July 2004 and are payable by the Company
in shares of common stock.
"In addition to providing extensive expertise in business management to
our Company through their participation on their respective Boards, Mr. Dicke
and Mr. Lunder have chosen to personally invest in the potential of Advanced
Viral Research Corp.," said Eli Wilner, Chairman of the Board. "This funding
comes at a time when we are investing in important clinical studies in
therapeutic categories that have significant potential."
"The investments made by Mr. Dicke and Mr. Lunder reflect their confidence
in the pharmacological therapy represented by Product R and the strength of
the science supporting the clinical development of this product," said Shalom
Z. Hirschman, M.D., Chief Executive Officer and President of the Company.
"This investment should help us to continue our progress in conducting a
clinical trial for the topical treatment of genital warts with Product R in
the United States, and allow us to initiate the three clinical trials recently
approved by the Israeli Ministry of Health."
In April 2002, the Company announced the start of Phase II of its
Investigational New Drug (IND) application for the topical treatment of
genital warts with Product R. The Company is recruiting clinical sites to
perform these studies in patients with genital warts in the United States.
In June 2002, the Company announced that it had received approval from the
Ministry of Health in Israel for Phase I/II clinical trials with injectable
Product R in patients who have failed highly active anti-retroviral therapy
(HAART) and require salvage therapy; a Phase I clinical study for the
treatment of body wasting (cachexia) in patients with solid tumors; and, a
Phase I clinical study for patients with hematopoietic and lymphoid tumors,
including acute lymphocytic leukemia, Hodgkin's disease and non-Hodgkin's
lymphoma, who also manifest symptoms of cachexia.
Product R is being investigated as a non-toxic peptide-nucleic acid-type
immunomodulator that appears to stimulate the proinflammatory responses
required to combat viral infections such as AIDS and human papilloma virus and
to dampen aberrant autoimmune-type inflammatory responses, such as occur in
patients with rheumatoid arthritis. Therefore, Product R has been termed a
"switch type" immunomodulator. Product R is also being studied for the
promise shown in its ability to mitigate the toxic side effects of other
drugs, including those used to treat HIV infection and chemotherapeutic drugs
employed in the treatment of cancers.
Mr. Dicke is currently President and Chief Executive Officer of Crown
Equipment Corporation, a worldwide manufacturer and distributor of materials
handling equipment and technologies. He joined Advanced Viral's Board of
Directors in December 2001. Mr. Lunder is the former Co-Chairman and
Treasurer of the Dexter Shoe Company (now owned by Berkshire-Hathaway). He
joined the Business Advisory Board in January 2002.
Advanced Viral Research Corp., based in Yonkers, New York, is a
biopharmaceutical firm dedicated to improving patients' lives by researching,
developing and bringing to market new and effective therapies for viral and
other diseases.
Note: This news release contains forward-looking statements that involve
risks associated with clinical development, regulatory approvals, including
application to the FDA, product commercialization and other risks described
from time to time in the SEC reports filed by the Company. Product R is not
approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration or any comparable agencies
of any other countries. There is no assurance that the Company will be able
to secure the financing necessary to continue and/or complete the clinical
trials of Product R or satisfy certain other conditions relating to clinical
trials including obtaining adequate insurance on terms acceptable to the
Company. The Company undertakes no obligation to update or revise the
information contained in this announcement whether as a result of new
information, future events or circumstances or otherwise.
For further information regarding Advanced Viral Research Corp., please
visit our website at http://www.adviral.com .
CONTACT:
Mayr Communications, Inc.
Charles Mayr
877-777-6010
mayrcomm@att.net
SOURCE Advanced Viral Research Corp.
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Related links:
http://www.adviral.com
CONTACT:
Charles Mayr of Mayr Communications, Inc.,
+1-877-777-6010, mayrcomm@att.net
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