The Sage Group Widens Strategic Role to Assist HemispherX Biopharma in Pandemic Influenza...

The Sage Group Widens Strategic Role to Assist HemispherX Biopharma in
Pandemic Influenza Initiatives as Pacific Rim/Japan Treatment/Prevention
Programs Accelerate

CLINTON, N.J., May 27 /PRNewswire/ -- The Sage Group, a privately held
international health care consulting group, announced today that HemispherX
Biopharma has expanded the mandate for The Sage Group to include, in addition
to the strategic partnering efforts related to Ampligen (an experimental
immunotherapeutic) for Chronic Fatigue Syndrome*, additional partnering
efforts related to Ampligen's use to increase the effectiveness of
preventative pandemic flu vaccines and the additional role of Alferon LDO (an
experimental therapeutic) for treating various types of pandemic flu.

In particular, Sage is assisting HemispherX in its work with the Japanese
government in the rapid development of a response strategy for pandemic flu.
According to Time Magazine, the number of swine flu cases in Japan are
escalating with surprising speed, and health officials are not sure why. The
Japanese government on Wednesday, May 20, 2009 confirmed the first two cases
of the disease in Tokyo, the world's most populous metropolitan area.
Meanwhile, the number of Japanese who have contracted the new flu has more
than doubled since May 18 from 130 to 279, a rate of increase that is "without
a doubt" the highest in Asia, says Peter Cordingley, regional spokesman for
the World Health Organization. "It's explosive."

On Friday morning May 22, 2009, the government was expected to adopt a set of
guidelines to fight the flu at the recently established Headquarters for
Countermeasures Against Influenza A (H1N1) in Tokyo. The new guidelines will
be a modification of an existing plan created to counter the more virulent
H5N1 virus, known as avian flu.

Yoshi Mizuta, President of Sage Japan, said, "The Japanese government remains
concerned about pandemic flu outbreaks and continues to support initiatives
such as Dr. Hasegawa's work (Japanese National Institute of Infectious
Diseases) which uses Ampligen along with a vaccine to prevent avian flu as
recently reported in the primate studies Dr. Hasegawa has conducted."

The Sage Group also acted as an adviser to HemispherX in HemispherX's two
recent rounds of PIPE (Private Investment in Public Entities) financings, with
Rodman and Renshaw as Underwriter, for approximately $50 million (common
shares plus attached warrants). These financings were conducted to generate
additional capital to fund the final development and introduction of Ampligen,
for Chronic Fatigue Syndrome, in the US market. Wayne Pambianchi, Executive
Director of The Sage Group, said, "HemispherX's success in closing this
important financing in this troubled financial market, is a clear reflection
of the perceived importance of their Ampligen technology in a broad range of
immunological applications."

*HemispherX has already announced that it has been notified by the FDA that
the FDA may require up to 1-2 additional weeks to take action beyond the
scheduled Prescription Drug User Fee Act action date of May 25, 2009 on the
New Drug Application for Ampligen(r) (Poly I Poly C12U), a selective TLR3
modulator, for the management of Chronic Fatigue Syndrome.

About The Sage Group, Inc.
Sage is a senior-level health care, international, technology oriented,
strategy and transaction advisory firm formed in 1994. The principals of Sage
are seven highly experienced healthcare executives, each of whom has
substantial strategic, analytical and hands-on operating experience, as well
as extensive backgrounds in licensing - in and out, corporate partnering and
M&A. In addition, Sage's advisors and senior directors have extensive
knowledge in the clinical, regulatory and product development disciplines.
Sage's principals have played key leadership roles as founders/CEOs in a
number of emerging biomedical companies and senior executives in multinational
corporations. They have also played key consulting roles in corporate
partnering/acquisition and licensing strategies of emerging and mid-sized
companies. Sage has offices in the United States, European Union, and Far
East. For more information please visit www.sagehealthcare.com.

About Hemispherx Biopharma
Hemispherx Biopharma, Inc. is a specialty pharma company engaged in the
manufacture and clinical development of new drug entities for treatment of
seriously debilitating disorders. Hemispherx's flagship products include
Alferon N Injection(R) (FDA approved for a category of sexually transmitted
diseases) and the experimental therapeutics, Ampligen(R) and Oragens.
Ampligen(R) and Oragens represent experimental RNA nucleic acids being
developed for globally important debilitating diseases and disorders of the
immune system. Hemispherx's platform technology includes large and small agent
components for potential treatment of various severely debilitating and life
threatening diseases. Hemispherx has in excess of 50 issued patents comprising
its core intellectual property estate and a fully commercialized product
(Alferon N Injection(R)). The Company wholly owns and exclusively operates a
GMP certified manufacturing facility in the United States for commercial
products. For more information please visit www.hemispherx.net.

Information contained in this news release other than historical information,
should be considered forward-looking and is subject to various risk factors
and uncertainties. For instance, the strategies and operations of Hemispherx
involve risk of competition, changing market conditions, change 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. Any specifically referenced investigational drugs and associated
technologies of the Company (including Ampligen(R), Alferon LDO and Oragens)
are experimental in nature and as such are not designated safe and effective
by a regulatory authority for general use and are legally available only
through clinical trials with the referenced disorders. The forward-looking
statements represent the Company's judgment as of the date of this release.
The Company disclaims, however, any intent or obligation to update these
forward-looking statements. Clinical trials for other potential indications of
the approved biologic Alferon N Injection(R) do not imply that the product
will ever be specifically approved commercially for these other treatment
indications; similarly, the completion of the NDA filing process with
Ampligen(R) does not imply that the product will ever be approved
commercially.

SOURCE The Sage Group

Wayne Pambianchi, The Sage Group, +1-908-806-8225