MultiCell Immunotherapeutics Data Demonstrates Potential to Prevent Avian Flu; Pre-Clinical Mouse Models Show 1,000-fold Reduction in Viral Load in H1N1 Strain.LINCOLN, R.I. -- MultiCell Technologies, Inc. (OTCBB OTCBB See OTC Bulletin Board (OTCBB). : MCET MCET Massachusetts Corporation for Educational Telecommunications MCET Maryland Center for Environmental Training MCET Micro-Computer Electronics Technology MCET Michigan Consumer Evaluation Team, Inc ) announced today that pre-clinical tests conducted by scientists at MultiCell's San Diego laboratories showed that MultiCell Immunotherapeutics, Inc.'s (MCTI's) toll receptor technology was able to reduce pulmonary virus titers by 1,000- fold in the H1N1 strain of flu to barely detectable levels. These results indicate that the technology may be able to reduce viral load viral load n. The concentration of a virus, such as HIV, in the blood. viral load, n a measure of the number of virus particles present in the bloodstream, expressed as copies per milliliter. in avian influenza. The H5N1 avian flu contains many of the same proteins as the H1N1 strain of flu, so the HINI HINI Heinz Infant Nutrition Institute results are projected to be important to the understanding of developing an immunotherapeutic against avian flu. MCTI's toll receptor technology employs double stranded RNA RNA: see nucleic acid. RNA in full ribonucleic acid One of the two main types of nucleic acid (the other being DNA), which functions in cellular protein synthesis in all living cells and replaces DNA as the carrier of genetic (dsRNA) and targets toll receptors 3,7 and 8. In studies of mouse models, the viral load was reduced by more than 90%. The results of the study showed that more than 100,000 units of pulmonary viral titers were reduced to negligible levels after administration of the immunotherapeutic. The Company plans additional pre-clinical trials to further evaluate the methodology and plans to approach the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), agency of the U.S. Public Health Service since 1973, with headquarters in Atlanta; it was established in 1946 as the Communicable Disease Center. to conduct further studies. MultiCell acquired the technology as a result of its acquisition last month of substantially all of the assets of Astral (language) Astral - A programming language based on Pascal, never implemented. ["ASTRAL: A Structured and Unified Approach to Database Design and Manipulation", T. Amble et al, in Proc of the Database Architecture Conf, Venice, June 1979]. , Inc. "The pre-clinical results in mouse models support our view that our toll receptor technology may be able to respond to threats posed by agents such as avian influenza. We believe that these results highlight the commercial opportunities for our immunotherapeutics," said Dr. Stephen Chang, President of MultiCell Technologies Inc. "The recent acquisition of the assets of Astral has broadened our intellectual property platform considerably, and provides us with additional promising therapeutic opportunities." About Avian Flu Avian influenza attacks and destroys the human respiratory system and "... kills 55% of the people it infects," according to Laurie Garrett, senior fellow for global health at the Council on Foreign Relations The Council on Foreign Relations (CFR) is an influential and independent, nonpartisan foreign policy membership organization founded in 1921 and based at 58 East 68th Street (corner Park Avenue) in New York City, with an additional office in Washington, D.C. . Avian flu can be contracted by bird, animal or human contact or airborne. It can spread at a rate three times faster than normal flu. For the newer strain of the disease, H5N1, there are no antibodies; this virus could pose a greater threat than smallpox, AIDS or anthrax. About MultiCell Technologies, Inc. MultiCell Technologies is a developer of therapies, an adult stem cell Adult stem cells are undifferentiated cells found throughout the body that divide to replenish dying cells and regenerate damaged tissues. Also known as somatic (from Greek Σωματικóς, of the body company and a supplier of immortalized cell lines for drug discovery applications. With its subsidiary, MultiCell Immunotherapeutics (MCTI), MultiCell intends to commercialize new therapeutics for the treatment of various diseases and disorders. MultiCell holds key patents relating to novel strategies for the isolation of adult human liver cells, and cell clusters or doublets dou·blet n. 1. A close-fitting jacket, with or without sleeves, worn by European men between the 15th and 17th centuries. 2. a. A pair of similar or identical things. b. A member of such a pair. as well as additional patents in the areas of stem cell technology, the Sybiol(TM) synthetic bio-liver therapeutic liver assist device, and immortalized human hepatocytes. MultiCell's stem cells are derived from adult tissues, which avoids the ethical and contamination issues associated with embryonic stem cells. MultiCell's headquarters and research laboratories are at 701 George Washington Highway The George Washington Highway was a National auto trail in the United States that ran between Washington, D.C. and Saint Louis, Missouri. Between Winchester, Virginia and Parkersburg, West Virginia, the road was originally known as the Northwestern Turnpike. , Lincoln, Rhode Island Lincoln is a town in Providence County, Rhode Island, United States. The population was 20,898 at the 2000 census. Lincoln is located in northeastern Rhode Island, and is north of Providence. 02865. For more information about MultiCell see http://www.multicelltech.com. Caution Regarding Forward-Looking Statements Any statements in this press release about MultiCell's expectations, beliefs, plans, objectives, assumptions or future events or performance are not historical facts and are forward-looking statements for purposes of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act The Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 (PSLRA) implemented several significant substantive changes affecting certain cases brought under the federal securities laws, including changes related to pleading, discovery, liability, class representation and awards fees and of 1995 (the "Act"). These statements are often, but not always, made through the use of words or phrases such as "believe," "will," "expect," "anticipate," "estimate," "intend," "plan," and "would." MultiCell bases these forward-looking statements on current expectations about future events. They involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and assumptions that may cause actual results, levels of activity, performance or achievements to differ materially from those expressed or implied by any forward-looking statement. Some of the risks, uncertainties and assumptions that could cause actual results to differ materially from estimates or projections in the forward-looking statement include, but are not limited to, the risk that the market for our products will not grow as expected, and the risk that our products will not achieve expectations. For additional information about risks and uncertainties we face, see documents we file with the SEC, including our Report on Form 10-KSB for the fiscal year ended November 30, 2004 and all our quarterly and other periodic SEC filings. MultiCell claims the protection of the safe harbor for forward-looking statements under the Act and assumes no obligation and expressly disclaims any duty to update any forward-looking statement to reflect events or circumstances after the date of this news release or to reflect the occurrence of subsequent events. |
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