Lethality of H1N1 Influenza Virus Increasing According to Latest Analysis of Virus...

Lethality of H1N1 Influenza Virus Increasing According to Latest Analysis of
Virus Peptide Genomic Data

Boston Biotech Firm Reports First Rise in 76 Years of Replikin Count* of H1N1
Lethality Gene

BOSTON, June 10 /PRNewswire/ -- An analysis of the latest peptide genomic data
for the H1N1 influenza virus indicates that the current global outbreak of
H1N1 is increasing in its capacity for lethality. The new sequence data on
PubMed of the past two weeks through June 10, 2009 showed an increase in the
Replikin Count* of the Replikin Lethality Gene in the pB1 genomic area from a
mean of 2+/-0.2 in 2008 to a mean of 3.2+/-3.7 in 2009 (p<0.001). The Replikin
Count of the Lethality Gene in 836 previous H1N1 influenza virus isolates has
remained essentially unchanged (at 2) since 1933.

These analyses were conducted by the Boston-based biotech firm Replikins, Ltd.
(http://www.replikins.com) using its FluForecast(R) software. A year ago
(4/7/08), using the same software, the firm predicted the current H1N1 virus
outbreak, and last month (5/23/09) an increase in the Replikin Count of the
Replikin Infectivity Gene in the hemagglutinin area indicated a marked
increase in infectivity of the evolving H1N1 virus.

"Last month the H1N1 genomic data indicated some bad and some good news. While
it indicated an increase in the infectivity of the H1N1 virus, its lethality
appeared to remain relatively low," noted Sam Bogoch, MD, PhD, chairman of
Replikins Ltd. "However, the FluForecast(R) analysis of new data of the past
few weeks, through June 10th, on 144 new specimens published on PubMed,
indicate an increase in the current H1N1 outbreak's capacity for lethality.
Since the software also permitted the automated analysis of all sequence data
available on PubMed for all previous years, it was noted that this is the
first such significant increase in the Replikin Count of the H1N1 Lethality
Gene in 76 years. This is cause for concern and an accelerated vaccine
effort."

For both the Infectivity Gene and the Lethality Gene, a significant increase
in Replikin Count has invariably been followed by an increase in infectivity
or lethality in influenza. While both the Replikin Infectivity Gene and the
Replikin Lethality Gene have been found to act independently in all common
influenza strains in human, swine, and bird hosts, both of these genes have
been inhibited by the Two-Punch(TM) vaccine system -- designed to be
concurrently directed at both genes.

The company recently announced that it has made available for testing against
H1N1 a Two-Punch(TM) PanFlu(TM) vaccine. The same vaccine system has been
successfully tested against H5N1 in chickens.

Chart: http://www.ereleases.com/pr/June10-Lethality-Graph.png

About Replikins, Ltd.

Replikins, LLC (http://www.replikins.com), a Boston-based biotech company, and
Replikins, Ltd., develop and market novel forecasting tools and synthetic
vaccines to fight virulent rapidly replicating diseases including bird flu,
malaria, and HIV. The company's predictive products and vaccines in
development are based upon the company's discovery of Replikins, a new group
of peptides related to the rapid replication function in viral and other
diseases. The company has designed unique products to predict the emergence of
virulent strains of particular diseases (FluForecast(TM)) and is designing
synthetic vaccines specifically tailored to combat a given strain and against
shared properties of several strains (Syntope(TM) vaccines). The company is
partnering with governments and the private sector in providing predictive
tools and vaccines in furtherance of the public health initiative to prevent
and combat epidemics.

* The company's vaccines and predictive tools are based on the company's
discovery of a new group of peptides related to rapid replication called
Replikins, whose increase in concentration in virus or other organism proteins
(Replikin Count(TM) = number of replikins per 100 amino acids) is associated
with rapid replication.

Contact:

John McKenney
jmckenney@replikins.com
617-536-0220

This release was issued through eReleases(TM). For more information, visit
http://www.ereleases.com.

SOURCE Replikins Ltd.

John McKenney of Replikins Ltd., +1-617-536-0220, jmckenney@replikins.com