Monday, December 13, 2010

Hepatitis C: Chinese pharmaceutical companies interested in Immunitor's lead product, V5.

Immunitor Completes Business Trip to China and Presents at Chinese Academy of Science Annual TB Meeting


Press Release Source: Immune Network Ltd On Monday December 13, 2010, 10:10 am EST

VANCOUVER, British Columbia, Dec. 13, 2010 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Immune Network Ltd. (Pink Sheets:IMMFF - News), advises that Immunitor has concluded a successful business trip to China and presented new clinical data to experts at the Chinese Academy of Sciences TB conference in Beijing.

Immunitor conducted a series of meetings with Chinese pharmaceutical companies interested in Immunitor's lead product, V5. Various deal arrangements were discussed comprising establishment of joint venture and marketing arrangements for V5, for both hepatitis B and C, and tuberculosis indications, including MDR-TB (multi-drug resistant tuberculosis). Given the urgency of treating such diseases as MDR-TB and the overall size of commercial opportunity in China for V5 and the marketing efforts that will be required, Immunitor and its business partner Vancouver-based Immune Network Ltd. are seeking a well-established company in China which will contribute to registration and commercialization of this product. The importance of the market for V5 in China cannot be overemphasized: about 40% of China's population carries the tuberculosis bacilli, 690 million are carriers of hepatitis B virus (HBV), and 40 million are carriers of hepatitis C virus (HCV).

Immunitor's business trip coincided with the Annual TB meeting of the Chinese Academy of Sciences held at Beijing Chest Hospital -- the largest tuberculosis hospital in China. Immunitor's talk, entitled "Immunotherapy of TB," was received with great interest by leading TB experts of China. The presentation disclosed interim results from Immunitor's imm01 phase 2b placebo-controlled trial involving 120 patients that is near completion (see http://clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT01222338 for details). Trials with V5 have thus far revealed highly encouraging results for treatment of all forms of tuberculosis, including difficult-to-treat forms of TB such as relapsed TB, re-treated or failure TB, drug-resistant MDR-TB, as well as TB-HIV (and MDR-TB with HIV), all apparently curable at the same efficacy rate as drug-sensitive TB. These new data on the use of V5 in tuberculosis patients will provide insight into the endpoints that will guide Immunitor in the design of follow-on studies, now being arranged in several countries of Africa and Asia.


China has the world's second largest tuberculosis epidemic, closely trailing after India. About 25% of all new TB cases, and half of all previously-treated cases, are resistant to at least one TB drug. Prevalence of MDR-TB cases is often underestimated. "I first came to China back in 1986 and since then have built a solid network of business and academic connections. This historically strong relationship with China will help us to accelerate our market strategies in the area of TB and hepatitis. Beijing Chest Hospital is the leading clinical site for trials of new TB drugs" said Dr Aldar Bourinbaiar, CEO of Immunitor. Over 40% of Chinese residents have the latent form of TB and the number of individuals with chronic hepatitis B in China is largest in the world, affecting close to 150 million people. For additional information about Immunitor company, please visit www.immunitor.com .


Immune Network is continuing its work toward meeting the pre-conditions for completion of a transaction with Immunitor. Several corporate updates and proposal of terms for Immune Network's transaction with Immunitor will be announced this month. A temporary website for Immune Network is at http://www.immune-network.com .


The Immune Network Ltd. logo is available at http://www.globenewswire.com/newsroom/prs/?pkgid=8008 .


Safe Harbor Statement

The information in this release, other than historical information, may be considered forward-looking statements within the provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Projection and other forward-looking statements and management expectations regarding future events and/or financial performance of the Company -- although given in good faith -- are inherently uncertain and actual events and/or results may differ materially.


Contact:
Immune Network LtdIMMFF@yahoo.com

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