Corgenix Announces Expansion of Hemorrhagic Fever Virus Product Development Program

Corgenix Announces Expansion of Hemorrhagic Fever Virus Product Development
Program
Recent outbreaks of the Lassa Hemorrhagic Fever in Africa show vital need for
new products that can be processed in any clinical or field lab

DENVER, July 10 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Corgenix Medical Corporation
(OTC Bulletin Board: CONX), a worldwide developer and marketer of diagnostic
test kits, has announced an expansion of the collaborative effort for
developing test kits for viral hemorrhagic fever (VHF) detection.
The viral products are being produced under a grant awarded by the
National Institutes of Health (NIH) and were developed by Corgenix in
collaboration with Tulane University, the U.S. Army Medical Research Institute
of Infectious Diseases (USAMRIID), BioFactura, Inc., Autoimmune Technologies,
LLC and various partners in West Africa.
Joining the collaboration is Vybion, Inc., an Ithaca, N.Y., based
biotechnology company. Vybion CEO Lee Henderson, Ph.D., stated, "We are
pleased to be able to work with Corgenix, Tulane and the other partners. With
our deep experience in protein expression from bacterial and mammalian cells
and our extensive technology portfolio, we will be able to provide the
commercial scale-up for the recombinant protein efforts."
"The addition of Vybion to our group is an important step in achieving
full commercialization of the products developed under this collaboration,"
said Douglass Simpson, Corgenix President and CEO. "We already have products
in the field in Africa, and with Vybion's capabilities in producing large
quantities of the critical reagents, we have the supply chain necessary for
full scale production of these critically important detection products."
Corgenix and the other partners have developed and applied for a patent
for new recombinant proteins for Lassa virus. Lassa fever, a serious viral
infection spread by contact with infected rodents, is estimated to infect
300,000 to 500,000 people per year across West Africa, with approximately
5,000 deaths. Current tests are expensive, not commercially available, can
take days to return results, and usually require the culture of live Lassa
virus in a high-containment laboratory to produce reagents. In some areas of
Sierra Leone and Liberia, up to 16 percent of people admitted to hospitals
have Lassa fever. Lassa fever is also associated with occasional epidemics,
during which the case-fatality rate can reach 50 percent.
New outbreaks of the Lassa hemorrhagic fever have been reported recently.
Daniel Bausch MD, MPH&TM, Director of the Mano River Union Lassa Fever Network
and Tulane's Program in West Africa, observed, "We are now seeing a much
broader presence of this disease in Africa. Within the past two months alone
we have seen an increase in the number of cases in Nigeria, with increased
fatalities. It is critical that the assays we have already developed and are
using in Africa, as well as others still in our development pipeline, become
fully deployed to aid in this vital effort."
Corgenix said the new tests already developed by the group can be run in
just 90 minutes, and unlike other virus tests, don't require specially
designed and engineered Biosafety Level 4 (BSL-4) laboratories operated by
specially trained personnel. This makes the products ideal for important
clinical areas such as Africa, as well as the bioterrorism concern. Under the
NIH grant, Tulane has been leading a three-year study designed to develop
better tests for VHFs, some of which are potential bioterrorism agents due to
their high fatality rate and ease of transmission from person to person.
Robert Garry, Ph.D., Professor of Microbiology and Immunology at the
Tulane University School of Medicine and Principle Investigator of the
program, added, "We have been very pleased with the results of our development
effort. The products have shown to be remarkably effective in clinical
settings in Africa and will have a meaningful impact on the healthcare in that
part of the world, but will also fill a critical gap in bioterrorism defense.
Now with the addition of Vybion, Corgenix can successfully scale-up the
production to address both needs."
Dr. Garry stated that the group intends to expand this program to address
other important infectious agents-such as Ebola, Marburg and other hemorrhagic
fever viruses-that are of concern to the public health and bioterrorism
preparedness communities.
About Corgenix Medical Corporation
Corgenix is a leader in the development and manufacturing of specialized
diagnostic kits for emerging pathogens and bio-threat agents, immunology
disorders, vascular diseases and bone and joint disorders, including the
world's only non-blood-based test for aspirin effect. Corgenix diagnostic
products are commercialized for use in clinical laboratories throughout the
world. The company currently sells over 50 diagnostic products through a
global distribution network. More information is available at
http://www.corgenix.com.
About Tulane University
Tulane University (New Orleans LA) was founded in 1834. Tulane is one of
the most highly regarded and selective research universities in the United
States, and is a member of the prestigious Association of American
Universities. Tulane's schools and colleges offer undergraduate, graduate and
professional degrees in the liberal arts, science and engineering,
architecture, business, law, social work, medicine and public health and
tropical medicine.
About Vybion, Inc.
Vybion (Ithaca, N.Y.) is an emerging biotechnology company with a
proprietary biopharmaceutical drug pipeline and platform technology for human
monoclonal antibody selection and affinity maturation. The Company's contract
division has developed over 100 recombinant proteins in multiple expression
systems including 10 drugs in various phases of clinical development.
About USAMRIID
USAMRIID, located at Fort Detrick, Maryland, is the lead medical research
laboratory for the U.S. Biological Defense Research Program, and plays a key
role in national defense and in infectious disease research. The Institute
conducts basic and applied research on biological threats resulting in medical
solutions (such as vaccines, drugs and diagnostics) to protect the warfighter.
While USAMRIID's primary mission is focused on the military, its research
often has applications that benefit society as a whole. USAMRIID is a
subordinate laboratory of the U.S. Army Medical Research and Materiel Command.
For more information, visit http://www.usamriid.army.mil
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SOURCE Corgenix Medical Corporation

William Critchfield, Senior VP and CFO of Corgenix Medical Corp.,
+1-303-453-8903, wcritchfield@corgenix.com; or Media, Dan Snyders, Vice
President, Public Relations Supervisor of Armada Medical Marketing,
+1-303-623-1190 x 230, or Fax, +1-303-623-1191, dan@armadamedical.com, for
Corgenix Medical Corp.