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Texas Tech University to Create the West Texas Influenza Research Center

Posted on: Monday, 14 January 2008, 12:01 CST

Amarillo Biosciences, Inc. (OTCBB: AMAR) today announced that the Company's public policy efforts helped attract a $526,000 grant to the Texas Tech University System for the creation of the West Texas Influenza Research Center to study influenza treatments, including the use of oral interferon as a preventative and therapeutic agent.

Human clinical testing of oral interferon at the Texas Tech University System has already included a 5-year study of idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis and an ongoing study of coughing in chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). The largest earmark in the present Federal budget for the Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center is this new grant to study influenza.

Dr. Joseph M. Cummins, president & CEO, said Amarillo Biosciences is pleased that Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center has been awarded this grant to study treatments for human influenza.

"We have already successfully tested the efficacy of our oral interferon against various avian influenza (including H5N1) in mice. The same animal model was employed by the Centers for Disease Control and was used in independent laboratories in the United States, Germany and Australia, and we are extremely pleased that part of the grant can be applied to test the efficacy of oral interferon in combating influenza," Cummins said. "The time has come to begin human testing, and we eagerly await the launch of human studies which will commence in 2008."

The Company's goal is to achieve regulatory approval for low-dose interferon-alpha for oral delivery to humans and animals. Dr. Steven Berk, Dean of Texas Tech Health Science Center School of Medicine and an infectious disease trained physician, commented, "The School of Medicine is enthusiastic about developing the West Texas Center for Influenza Research, Education and Treatment. We look forward to establishing protocols to assess new treatment modalities for influenza."

About Amarillo Biosciences, Inc.

Amarillo Biosciences, Inc. is a U.S. biotechnology firm operating in global partnership with the Hayashibara Group, which also holds 12% of Amarillo Biosciences' shares and has provided over $18 million in loans, grants and equity investments. The company's primary focus is extensive and ongoing R&D into the use of low-dose, orally administered interferon as a treatment for a variety of conditions, including Sjogren's syndrome, Behcet's disease, and opportunistic infections in patients who are HIV positive. In its 23-year history, the company has invested nearly $38 million to establish oral interferon as a therapeutic agent. The majority of those funds were invested in clinical trials in an effort to achieve FDA approval for interferon. Additional information is available at http://www.amarbio.com/.

Except for the historical information contained herein, the matters discussed in this news release are forward-looking statements that involve risks and uncertainties, including uncertainties related to product development, uncertainties related to the need for regulatory and other government approvals, dependence on proprietary technology, uncertainty of market acceptance of oral interferon or the Company's other product candidates and other risks detailed from time to time in the Company's filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. In particular, see "Item 1. Description of Business" of the Company's Form 10-KSB for the year ended December 31, 2006.

 Investor Relations: Philippe Niemetz PAN Consultants, Ltd. e-mail:p.niemetz@panconsultants.com Tel: 800-477-7570 212-344-6464 Fax: 212-618-1276  Joseph M. Cummins, DVM, PhD Amarillo Biosciences, Inc. e-mail:jcummins@amarbio.com Tel: 806-376-1741 x 13 Fax: 806-376-9301  

SOURCE: Amarillo Biosciences, Inc.

Source: MARKET WIRE

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