June 3, 2007
Functional Genetics, Inc. announced today that it has received an
award from the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases,
part of the National Institutes of Health, to discover new
opportunities to treat HIV, the cause of AIDS.
"This new award allows Functional Genetics to apply its innovative new
approaches to help in the fight against HIV/AIDS," said Michael
Goldblatt, Chief Executive Officer. “Functional Genetics is dedicated
to discovering new drugs that protect and treat virus infections that
cause considerable death and disease. The Company has already applied
its approaches to develop broad-spectrum therapeutics designed to
prevent or treat diseases that impact both the civilian and military
communities.”
Functional Genetics will apply its proprietary Random Homozygous Gene
Perturbation (RHGP) technology to identify host targets for drugs that
can be safely delivered to prevent or treat HIV infection. “This new
opportunity complements Functional Genetics’ pioneering efforts to
develop broad-spectrum anti-infectives based on the concept of denying
microbes the opportunity to harm patients,” added Dr. Goldblatt. The
program is designed to overcome issues that have previously eluded
anti-infective therapies, including acquired drug resistance and the
narrow application of current antivirals.
About Functional Genetics, Inc.
Functional Genetics is a privately-held biopharmaceutical company
dedicated to advancing science to combat intractable human diseases.
The company's initial therapeutic products, through its innovative
focus of Host Oriented Therapeutics, address the unmet medical need
for effective therapies to combat a broad spectrum of infectious
diseases. These new drugs are designed to circumvent microbial
resistance, which often causes therapeutic failures. Functional
Genetics has identified and is establishing medical validity of
therapeutics that target host proteins required for the propagation
and pathogenicity of disease-causing viruses including HIV, Influenza,
RSV, and diseases of bioterrorism such as Ebola. The Company is
currently moving toward clinical testing of the first of its new
generation of broad spectrum anti-viral products. The Company's has
also developed technologies that dramatically increase the efficiency
of biomedicine production. Functional Genetics is headquartered in
Gaithersburg, Maryland. For more information, visit the company's
website at http://www.functional-genetics.com.
Source: Functional Genetics, Inc.
Contact: Media: Michael Kinch at 240-631-6799.
"Safe Harbor" Statement under the Private Securities Litigation Reform
Act of 1995: Statements in this press release regarding Functional
Genetics’ business which are not historical facts are "forward-looking
statements" that involve risks and uncertainties.
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