Aethlon Medical Submits Cancer Research Grant.

SAN DIEGO -- Aethlon Medical, Inc. (OTCBB:AEMD) disclosed today that it has submitted a cancer research grant application entitled "Affinity Capture of Circulating Cancer Biomarkers" to the National Institute of Health (NIH). As stated in the grant, the mortality rate of many cancers has remained relatively unchanged for decades. Even with advances in therapeutic care, there remains a critical unmet need to identify reliable cancer biomarkers that assist in early detection of cancer, monitor cancer treatment, and detect cancer recurrence. The grant submission details the adaptation of the Aethlon Hemopurifier[R] to function as an ultra-sensitive method to isolate and identify multiple cancer biomarkers in the blood. At present, the identification of cancer biomarkers is limited as only small blood samples can be extracted from the patient for testing. In the application submitted by Aethlon, the Hemopurifier[R] would assist in the identification of low-abundant, previously undetected cancer biomarkers, by capturing and identifying biomarkers from large blood volumes, including from the entire circulatory system. There is no assurance Aethlon will derive grant income related to this research initiative.

The diagnostic application detailed in the grant expands the utility of the Hemopurifier[R], which is targeted to treat drug and vaccine resistant viruses and provide supportive care in cancer therapy. Researchers recently discovered the Hemopurifier[R] is effective in capturing particles that suppress the immune response in cancer patients. The particles, known as exosomes, are released by solid tumors, lymphomas, and leukemia. Exosomes induce T-cell apoptosis (programmed cell death), and block T-cell signaling, proliferation, and cytokine production. High concentrations of circulating exosomes correlate with reduced T-cell production and tumor progression in cancer patients.

In studies led by Dr. Douglas Taylor at the University of Louisville, 60% of circulating exosomes were removed from the blood of ovarian cancer patients during first pass (approximately 10-minutes) through a small scale Hemopurifier[R]. The capture data was consistent over the course of five different studies. The ability to reduce circulating exosomes would likely reverse immune suppression and increase patient responsiveness to both immunotherapy and chemotherapy. Dr. Taylor is a recognized authority on the causative effects of immune suppression in cancer patients. He is credited with the initial characterization of exosomes and is the leading peer reviewed author on the subject. Based on initial study observations, the Aethlon Hemopurifier[R] would address the unmet medical need of inhibiting exosome production in cancer patients. A discussion of this research can be accessed online at: www.aethlonmedical.com/news/cancer.htm.

About Aethlon Medical

Aethlon Medical is the developer of the Hemopurifier[R], a first-in-class medical device to treat infectious disease. The Hemopurifier[R] addresses the largest opportunity in infectious disease, the treatment of drug and vaccine resistant viruses. Regulatory and commercialization initiatives in the United States are focused on bioterror threats, while international initiatives are directed towards naturally evolving pandemic threats, and chronic infectious disease conditions including Hepatitis-C (HCV) and the Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV). Collaborative studies to demonstrate utility of the Hemopurifier([R]) are being conducted with researchers at the Government of India's National Institute of Virology (NIV), The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), The United States Army Medical Research Institute of Infectious Diseases (USAMRIID), and The Southwest Foundation for Biomedical Research (SFBR). Aethlon recently demonstrated safety of the Hemopurifier[R] in a 24-treatment human study and has received approval to continue further human studies at The Fortis Hospital in India. The Company has also submitted an Investigational Device Exemption (IDE) to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) related to advancing the Hemopurifier([R]) as a broad-spectrum treatment countermeasure against category "A" bioterror threats. Additional information on Aethlon Medical and its Hemopurifier([R]) technology can be accessed at www.aethlonmedical.com.

Certain of the statements herein may be forward-looking and involve risks and uncertainties. Such forward-looking statements involve assumptions, known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors which may cause the actual results, performance or achievements of Aethlon Medical, Inc. to be materially different from any future results, performance, or achievements expressed or implied by the forward-looking statements. Such potential risks and uncertainties include, without limitation, the Company's ability to raise capital when needed, the Company's ability to complete the development of its planned products, the ability of the Company to obtain FDA and other regulatory approvals permitting the sale of its products, the Company's ability to manufacture its products and provide its services, the impact of government regulations, patent protection on the Company's proprietary technology, product liability exposure, uncertainty of market acceptance, competition, technological change, and other risk factors. In such instances, actual results could differ materially as a result of a variety of factors, including the risks associated with the effect of changing economic conditions and other risk factors detailed in the Company's Securities and Exchange Commission filings.