WORCESTER, Mass., March 2, 2010 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Generex Biotechnology Corporation (Nasdaq:GNBT) (www.generex.com) today announced that it has received notice of issuance of a patent in respect of its Ii-Key peptide vaccine technology in China. This expands a solid intellectual property estate that includes both broad claims covering its platform technologies as well as specific Ii-Key-containing drug development compounds. Additionally, management is actively seeking potential joint venture/licensing partnerships for its peptide cancer vaccine technology platform and is in active discussions with several large pharmaceutical companies in that respect.
The Company recently reported interim results from a Phase II trial of an Ii-Key modified peptide vaccine for patients treated for breast cancer who are at high risk of relapse. While there was a 7% relapse rate in the control arm, there were no relapses in the Ii-Key peptide arm (AE37) when analyzed at the 13-month time point. A review article co-authored by Dr. Eric von Hofe, Ph.D., President of Antigen Express, entitled "A New Era in Anticancer Peptide Vaccines", currently appears in the journal Cancer, the International Interdisciplinary Journal published by the American Cancer Society.
Anna Gluskin, President and Chief Executive Officer of Generex, stated: "We are pleased to have received this broad based patent in China for this important peptide vaccine technology. We believe the recently published results from our Phase II breast cancer study demonstrate the enormous potential our platform has for the treatment of this disease. We have begun active discussions with pharmaceutical companies for potential joint ventures and licensing agreements to significantly further our commercialization efforts in this area. We are confident that, with the right partnerships, this technology can have a far reaching positive impact on the treatment of many types of cancers and we intend to aggressively pursue our goal of bringing these platform technologies to the commercialization stage."
About Generex Biotechnology Corporation
Generex is engaged in the research, development and commercialization of drug delivery systems and technologies. Generex has developed a proprietary platform technology for the delivery of drugs into the human body through the oral cavity (with no deposit in the lungs). The Company's proprietary liquid formulations allow drugs typically administered by injection to be absorbed into the body by the lining of the inner mouth using the Company's proprietary RapidMist™ device. The Company's flagship product, oral insulin (Generex Oral-lyn™), which is available for sale in India, Lebanon, Algeria, and Ecuador for the treatment of subjects with Type-1 and Type-2 diabetes, is in Phase III clinical trials at several sites around the world. Antigen Express, Inc. is a wholly owned subsidiary of Generex. The core platform technologies of Antigen Express comprise immunotherapeutics for the treatment of malignant, infectious, allergic, and autoimmune diseases. For more information, visit the Generex website at www.generex.com or the Antigen Express website at www.antigenexpress.com.
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Safe Harbor Statement
This release and oral statements made from time to time by Generex representatives in respect of the same subject matter may contain "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These statements can be identified by introductory words such as "expects," "plans," "intends," "believes," "will," "estimates," "forecasts," "projects," or words of similar meaning, and by the fact that they do not relate strictly to historical or current facts. Forward-looking statements frequently are used in discussing potential product applications, potential collaborations, product development activities, clinical studies, regulatory submissions and approvals, and similar operating matters. Many factors may cause actual results to differ from forward-looking statements, including inaccurate assumptions and a broad variety of risks and uncertainties, some of which are known and others of which are not. Known risks and uncertainties include those identified from time to time in the reports filed by Generex with the Securities and Exchange Commission, which should be considered together with any forward-looking statement. No forward-looking statement is a guarantee of future results or events, and one should avoid placing undue reliance on such statements. Generex undertakes no obligation to update publicly any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise. Generex cannot be sure when or if it will be permitted by regulatory agencies to undertake additional clinical trials or to commence any particular phase of clinical trials. Because of this, statements regarding the expected timing of clinical trials cannot be regarded as actual predictions of when Generex will obtain regulatory approval for any "phase" of clinical trials. Generex claims the protection of the safe harbor for forward-looking statements that is contained in the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act.