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I know this isn't the right board but thought some might be interested....big news!
bizjournals.com Cel-Sci flies on Avian flu vaccine Tuesday April 4, 1:36 pm ET
Stock in Northern Virginia biotechnology company Cel-Sci rallied as much as 21 percent Tuesday, after the company filed a patent application for an Avian flu vaccine. The Vienna-based company says the application covers its drug CEL-1000 for both the prevention and treatment of bird flu.
The drug provides broad-spectrum protection, which Cel-Sci says is important against the bird flu virus because the virus exhibits a high mutation rate.
In December, Cel-Sci signed an agreement with the National Institutes of Health to test the vaccine as a potential Avian flu vaccine in clinical trials with animals. The drug has shown positive results in animal tests against herpes simplex virus, encephalitis and malaria.
Cel-Sci (AMEX: CVM - News) is one of several area biotechs developing an Avian flu vaccine. Gaithersburg-based MedImmune (NASDAQ: MEDI - News) is also working with NIH to produce and test vaccines against potential pandemic flu strains.
Novavax (NASDAQ: NVAX - News) is advancing clinical trials of its experimental bird flu vaccine. The company is now based in Philadelphia, but maintains a research facility in Rockville.
Cel-Sci shares rose 18 cents to $1 per share in Tuesday trading. Its stock has doubled since the beginning of the year.
Published April 4, 2006 by the Washington Business Journal
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CEL-SCI Files Patent for Prevention/Treatment of Bird (Avian) Flu Tuesday April 4, 9:45 am ET
VIENNA, Va., April 4 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- CEL-SCI CORPORATION (Amex: CVM - News) announces that it has filed a provisional U.S. patent application covering its drug CEL-1000 for the prevention/treatment of bird flu and/or as an adjuvant to be included in a bird flu vaccine. ADVERTISEMENT
Geert Kersten, Chief Executive Officer of CEL-SCI said, "By filing this patent in the U.S., we are preserving our rights to file patents on this invention world-wide."
CEL-1000, when used as a single adjuvant (enhancer of a vaccine) or in combination with other adjuvants, potentiates Th1 (cellular) and innate (earliest stage) immune responses and protects animals from viral and parasitic challenge. CEL-1000 provides antigen-independent (i.e., non-disease specific) and broad-spectrum protection upon challenge with the disease causing agent(s), which is important against the bird flu virus since it exhibits a high mutation rate.
CEL-1000, is a patented defined amino acid sequence derived from the beta chain of human MHC-II, which itself is a modified version of a human immune- based protein known to bind to both human and mouse immune cells and appears to act by enhancing the host's protective immune response. It is a defined peptide, which binds to the CD4 and/or likely a related molecule LAG-3 on dendritic cells, macrophages and T cells, thereby promoting the release of cytokines responsible for activating a protective Th1 immune response (e.g., IL-12 and upon challenge IFN-gamma).
CEL-SCI Corporation is developing new immune system based treatments for cancer and infectious diseases. The Company has operations in Vienna, Virginia and Baltimore, Maryland.
When used in this report, the words "intends," "plans," "believes," "anticipated" and "expects" and similar expressions are intended to identify forward-looking statements. Such statements are subject to risks and uncertainties, which could cause actual results to differ materially from those projected. The Company undertakes no obligation to publicly release the result of any revision to these forward-looking statements, which may be made to reflect the events or circumstances after the date hereof or to reflect the occurrence of unanticipated events.
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