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Pioneering Vaccine and Cell Culture Expert Joins HepaLife to Expedite Development of Avian Flu Vaccine

Posted on: Tuesday, 16 January 2007, 09:01 CST

HepaLife Technologies, Inc. (OTCBB: HPLF) (FWB: HL1) (WKN: 500625) is pleased to announce the addition of Dr. Robert C. Tuttle to the Company's Scientific Advisory Board.

With over 25 years of experience, Dr. Tuttle is widely regarded as an innovative, pioneering cell and tissue culture biologist, with extensive biopharmaceutical experience in cGMP pilot to commercial scale GMP culture, including three FDA approved human therapeutics and seven in clinical trials.

"In addition to his industry-wide experience, Dr. Tuttle's unique blend of scientific know-how and commercial scale-up expertise in cell-cultures and vaccines are very helpful for us," states Mr. Frank Menzler, President and CEO of HepaLife. "I welcome Dr. Tuttle to our expanding team and am eager to leverage his many years of experience as we integrate our PBS-1 cell line into a novel, cell-culture based vaccine production system to help protect against the spread of influenza viruses among humans, including potentially the high pathogenic H5N1 avian flu virus."

Protected by five issued patents, including US patent 5,989,805 ("Immortal Avian Cell Line to Grow Avian and Animal Viruses to Produce Vaccines"), HepaLife is developing production methods to make flu vaccines faster, safer and at less cost by means of the Company's patented PBS-1 line of cells.

HepaLife's non-mammalian PBS-1 cell line is derived from an immortalized chicken embryo cell, and is being developed for more flexible cell-culture based vaccine production with the ability to quickly address prospective mutations in the avian influenza virus.

(View a CBS-affiliate, WWMT, television news story about HepaLife's active cell-based vaccine research: www.hepalife.com/media)

Dr. Robert C. Tuttle

Dr. Robert C. Tuttle, Ph.D. currently serves as a Senior Executive Consultant for Boston Biotech Company LLC, providing expert analysis for the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Bioshield therapeutics program and to the U.S. Department of Defense DARPA Accelerated Manufacturing Program (AMP) projects.

Prior to joining Boston Biotech, Dr. Tuttle served as Vice President Manufacturing for Genetix Pharmaceuticals, where he successfully led the cGMP manufacturing of the first clinical recombinant Lentivirus biologic for hemophilia gene therapy.

Between 2000 through 2004, Dr. Tuttle performed pioneering research in the Biodefense Medical Systems Department of the Battelle Memorial Institute. Among significant research achievements during his tenure at Battelle, Dr. Tuttle successfully invented and patented an avian coccidiosis vaccine, and further invented the production process for a new, better, safer recombinant anthrax protective vaccine.

Dr. Tuttle also served as the Director of Biologics for Novopharm Biotech between 1997 and 2000, during which time he invented processes to manufacture second entry biologics (Bio-Generics) such as TPA and EPO and a new, better formulation of paclitaxel (Taxol®) for first line cancer therapy. Taxol® is the first anti-cancer agent to surpass $500 million in US sales, and since FDA approval, has generated over $10 billion in revenues.

While at Immunomedics and Cytogen between 1991 and 1996, Dr. Tuttle scaled up and manufactured six of the first clinical monoclonal antibodies for in vivo colorectal, prostate and lymphoma cancer imaging and therapies. Earlier in his career, Dr. Tuttle directed manufacture and modernization of the commercial plasma proteins at CSL in Kankakee, Illinois, including the invention of the much-needed PCR-grade albumin, and scaled up the first FDA-approved tissue engineered living skin equivalent at Organogenesis in Cambridge, Massachusetts.

ABOUT HEPALIFE TECHNOLOGIES, INC.

HepaLife Technologies, Inc. (OTCBB: HPLF) (FWB: HL1) (WKN: 500625) is a development stage biotechnology company focused on the identification, development and eventual commercialization of cell-based technologies and products.

Current cell-based technologies under development by HepaLife include 1) the first-of-its-kind artificial liver device, 2) proprietary in-vitro toxicology and pre-clinical drug testing platforms, and 3) cell-culture based vaccines to protect against the spread of influenza viruses among humans, including potentially the high pathogenic H5N1 virus.

For additional information, please visit www.hepalife.com.

To receive future press releases via email, please visit:http://www.hepalife.com/alerts.php

To view the full HTML text of this release, please visit:http://www.hepalife.com/20070116-1.html.php

Legal Notice Regarding Forward-Looking Statements

No statement herein should be considered an offer or a solicitation of an offer for the purchase or sale of any securities. This release contains forward-looking statements that are based upon current expectations or beliefs, as well as a number of assumptions about future events. Although the Company believes that the expectations reflected in the forward-looking statements and the assumptions upon which they are based are reasonable, it can give no assurance that such expectations and assumptions will prove to have been correct. Forward-looking statements, which involve assumptions and describe our future plans, strategies, and expectations, are generally identifiable by use of the words "may,""will,""should,""could,""expect,""anticipate,""estimate,""believe,""intend," or "project" or the negative of these words or other variations on these words or comparable terminology. The reader is cautioned not to put undue reliance on these forward-looking statements, as these statements are subject to numerous factors and uncertainties, including but not limited to adverse economic conditions, intense competition, lack of meaningful research results, entry of new competitors and products, adverse federal, state and local government regulation, inadequate capital, unexpected costs and operating deficits, increases in general and administrative costs, termination of contracts or agreements, technological obsolescence of the Company's products, technical problems with the Company's research and products, price increases for supplies and components, litigation and administrative proceedings involving the Company, the possible acquisition of new businesses or technologies that result in operating losses or that do not perform as anticipated, unanticipated losses, the possible fluctuation and volatility of the Company's operating results, financial condition and stock price, losses incurred in litigating and settling cases, dilution in the Company's ownership of its business, adverse publicity and news coverage, inability to carry out research, development and commercialization plans, loss or retirement of key executives and research scientists, changes in interest rates, inflationary factors, and other specific risks. We currently have no commercial products intended to diagnose, treat, prevent or cure any disease. The statements contained in this press release regarding our on going research and development and the results attained by us to-date have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration. There can be no assurance that further research and development, and /or whether clinical trial results, if any, will validate and support the results of our preliminary research and studies. Further, there can be no assurance that the necessary regulatory approvals will be obtained or that HepaLife will be able to develop commercially viable products on the basis of its technologies. In addition, other factors that could cause actual results to differ materially are discussed in the Company's most recent Form 10-Q and Form 10-K filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. These reports and filings may be inspected and copied at the Public Reference Room maintained by the U.S. Securities & Exchange Commission at 100 F Street, N.E., Washington, D.C. 20549. You can obtain information about operation of the Public Reference Room by calling the U.S. Securities & Exchange Commission at 1-800-SEC-0330. The U.S. Securities & Exchange Commission also maintains an Internet site that contains reports, proxy and information statements, and other information regarding issuers that file electronically with the U.S. Securities & Exchange Commission at http://www.sec.gov. The Company undertakes no obligation to publicly release the results of any revisions to these forward looking statements that may be made to reflect the events or circumstances after the date hereof or to reflect the occurrence of unanticipated events.

Source: Business Wire

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