Hemispherx Affiliate Files Hepatitis C Related Notice of Invention With the U.S. Patent Office.

Business Editors & Health/Medical Writers

PHILADELPHIA--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Jan. 2, 2001

Hemispherx Biopharma, Inc. (AMEX:HEB)(AMEX:HEBws) announced that the California Institute of Molecular Medicine ("CIMM"), a company in which Hemispherx is the major Corporate shareholder, has filed a Notice of Invention with the U.S. Patent Office. This notice is titled "Replication of Human Kuppfer's Cells obtained from HCV infected patients by Fine Needle Biopsy Technique." The inventors describe a new method to potentially salvage critically needed liver function without major surgery or aggressive medical intervention.

Hepatitis C is a disease of the liver caused by the Hepatitis C virus ("HCV"). Nearly four million Americans have been infected with HCV of whom 2.7 million are chronically affected. Chronic liver disease is apparent in 70% of infected persons, with current treatment regimes being effective in only 10-40% of these people.

The proprietary CIMM approach allows the in vitro growth of hepatic macrophages (called Kupffer's cells) from the failing liver of a patient and reinfusion of liver cells into the same patient. This would not raise the question of immunological incompatibility. CIMM also advocates a process for maintaining and propagating Kuppfer's cells ("KC") reproducibly in defined cell cultures using fine needle liver aspirates from living human volunteers with potential for patients with failing liver due to a variety of etiologies.

KCs are one of the major components of the hepatic sinusoid. These hepatic sinusoid-lining cells actively participate in the maintenance of normal liver function, which is critical to maintaining life itself. Deterioration of KCs is implicated in the pathogenesis of both alcoholic liver disease and of chronically infected HCV patients.

Alcoholic hepatitis often leads to cirrhosis where normal liver cells are damaged and replaced by scar tissue. This is a major problem and economic burden to America, since over 25 million Americans are afflicted with liver and gallbladder diseases. Each year more the 25,000 die from chronic liver disease and cirrhosis. The only effective present treatment for the life threatening liver diseases leading to organ failure is liver transplant.

The potential market for the KC maintenance and propagation techniques will be the 14,000 people in the U.S. actively seeking a liver transplant. Additional thousands are progressing towards a failing liver and will soon need transplantation or a successful alternative method to restore function. Several hundred thousand who have alcoholic cirrhosis may also benefit from the proprietary process. Medical costs of a liver transplant are approximately $300,000 and are far beyond the financial reserves of most families.

Commenting on the development, Dr. William A. Carter, CEO of Hemispherx Biopharma, stated: "Hepatitis C is a progressive insidious disease of the liver for which the majority of sufferers have no cure. Many hospitals refuse even to offer liver transplants to alcoholics. This proprietary propagation method for Kuppfer's cells may offer HCV sufferers and alcoholics with significant liver damage, a chance to substantially prolong their normal liver functions."

Similar proprietary concepts, which do not involve specific new drug applications, have been successfully used by others to treat certain human malignancies especially involving bone marrow.

Zaki Salahuddin is a preeminent researcher in virology/molecular medicine. He is the author of over 100 scientific papers and holds several dozen patents. Zaki Salahuddin worked at the National Institutes of Health ("NIH") for many years and is very well known for his published work in the field of retro-virology (HTLV, HIV), cytokines and the discovery of human herpesvirus type-6 (HHV-6).

Information contained in this news release other than historical information including the referenced Notice of Invention should be considered forward-looking and is subject to various risk factors and uncertainties. For instance, the strategies and operations of HEMISPHERX involve risks of competition, changing market conditions, changes in laws and regulations affecting these industries and numerous other factors discussed in this release and in the Company's filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Accordingly, actual results may differ materially from those in any forward-looking statements. The Company disclaims any obligation to update the forward-looking statements.