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GeneThera and Leading Italian Research Institute Collaborate on Mad Cow & Other Animal Diseases

Posted on: Wednesday, 14 June 2006, 09:01 CDT

GeneThera, Inc. (OTCBB: GTHA) announces the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding (Agreement) with Italy's leading applied research laboratory, Istituto Zooprofilattico Sperimentale della Lombardia e dell'Emilia Romagna (IZSLER), to collaborate on scientific research related to the diagnosis of animal transmittable diseases, such as Mad Cow Disease and Scrapie.

The Agreement outlines the areas of cooperation between GeneThera and IZSLER, agrees on ways to exchange proprietary information and will establish a laboratory presence for GeneThera in Brescia, Italy, at the IZSLER National Reference Laboratory. More significantly, the Agreement with IZSLER will provide GeneThera with laboratory facilities and data from post-mortem brain samples collected from BSE and BASE (a variant form of Mad Cow Disease) experimentally infected animals stabled in the IZSLER high containment facility.

"Our new alliance with IZSLER will pave the way for us to cooperatively validate GeneThera's live animal assay for the detection of TSE (Mad Cow Disease and Scrapie) in a way that will improve the effectiveness and timeliness of a test for TSE," said Dr. Tony Milici, GeneThera's Chief Executive Officer. "Having access to live animals that have been experimentally infected with Mad Cow Disease and other transmissible diseases will allow our scientists to quickly validate our existing test and allow for a much quicker move to commercialization of the product. With the recent Wall Street Journal article stating that, '... the USDA believes the two cases of BSE (Mad Cow) found in the United States were rare, "atypical" strains of the disease ...,' we are even more anxious to get our exclusive access to these experimentally infected cattle considering that, to our knowledge, IZSLER is the only research institute in the world capable of providing cattle infected with such 'atypical' strain of BSE," Milici added.

"The agreement with GeneThera gives us the opportunity to generate valuable scientific data that can lead to further development of molecular diagnostic assays and better understanding about the spread of TSE throughout the animal herds," observed Scientific Director Dr. Cesare Bonacina.

The parties wish to acknowledge the invaluable assistance of Ms. Cinzia Tecce of Invest In Italy in introducing GeneThera to IZSLER.

About GeneThera, Inc.

GeneThera, Inc. is a molecular biotechnology company located in Wheat Ridge, Colo. The company provides genetic diagnostic solutions for the veterinary and agricultural industries with future plans to include the healthcare industry. The company's proprietary diagnostic solution is based on a genetic expression assay, GEA(TM), a protocol designed to function on a highly automated Fluorogenic PCR platform. This platform enables GeneThera to offer tests that are presently not available using other technologies. The GEA is designed for a host of individual diseases, the current priority being Mad Cow disease, Chronic Wasting Disease, a disease affecting elk and deer in North America; E.Coli 0157:H7 and Johnne's Disease, diseases affecting cattle worldwide.

About IZSLER

Istituto Zooprofilattico Sperimentale della Lombardia e dell'Emilia Romagna (IZSLER) (www.bs.izs.it), offers a broad range of services in the public veterinary sectors - in particular, food safety to the veterinary services, breeders and consumers. Its functions today can be described as those of a technical-scientific body providing services as required of it by national and regional law. At the present, IZSLER employs over 600 persons; 90 of them are graduated scientists (veterinarians, biologists and chemists). On a regional basis (Lombardia and Emilia Romagna), IZSLER performs diagnosis for a variety of viral infectious diseases of ruminants, pigs, horses, poultry and other species of economic interest (rabbits, fishes, bees, etc.), and microbiological and chemical analysis on foodstuffs of animal origin destined for human consumption and on food resources for animals.

About Invest In Italy

As an institutional joint-project between Sviluppo Italia, the National Agency for Enterprise and Inward Investment Development, and the Italian Trade Commission, the government agency which promotes the internationalization of Italian companies, Invest In Italy acts as a single reference point for foreign companies looking for winning solutions to expand their business in Italy. Moreover, Invest In Italy represents Italy's national trademark for all promotion activities focused on the country's competitive factors and aimed at encouraging the development of new investment projects in the international business community.

"Safe Harbor" Statement: Certain statements in this release are "forward-looking" statements as defined in the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Such statements are subject to numerous risks and uncertainties. Actual results may vary significantly from the results expressed or implied in such statements. Factors that could cause actual results to materially differ from forward-looking statements include, but are not limited to, the company's ability to successfully conclude a definitive agreement to the Memorandum of Understanding referenced in this press release, the company's ability to obtain project financing, risks and delays associated with development of the project, risk of market acceptance of new products, risk of technology or product obsolescence, competitive risks, reliance on development partners and the need for additional working capital.

Source: Business Wire

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