ImmuneRegen Racing Against the Clock in Time For Republican National Convention

Biotech Company Aims to be Ready with Rapid Response Team and Stockpile Therapies in Event of Bioterrorism Attack during Convention Head Researcher Available for Comment

Scottsdale, AZ (PRWEB) August 16, 2004 --- As national and local security officials put the finishing touches to implement strict security measures for the Republican National Convention in New York, ImmuneRegen, a small biotech firm based in the Southwest has been quietly putting a plan of their own: emergency preparedness for the event of a biological attack in time for the convention.

New legislation signed by President Bush will allow the government to distribute certain treatments before the Food and Drug Administration has approved them. The BioShield legislation opens the door for ImmuneRegen to make an immediate impact towards the U.S. governments fight against terrorism. The Companys goal is to stockpile its proprietary compound Homspera" and have it ready to offer to the government in an emergency situation to treat the detriments associated with a potential dirty bomb" or radioactive terrorism," said Michael Wilhelm, President and CEO of ImmuneRegen.

Homspera is a Substance P compound that can potentially reverse damage caused by exposure to acute radiation. In animal studies, ImmuneRegen has achieved positive results using Homspera to treat animal subjected to lethal levels of radiation exposure. The company continues to conduct its study in this area and has recently demonstrated a 50% survival rate in its fifth study, up from 25% in the prior study. A sixth study is underway to best determine administration.

The firm has been requested by the Federal Drug Administration (FDA) to form a BioTerrorism Rapid Response Team to help assist local, federal and international officials deal with the possible threat of another terrorist attack,

Dr. Mark Witten, research professor at the University of Arizona and co-founder and acting head researcher of ImmuneRegen Biosciences, Inc is currently available for comment on potential treatments for both chemical and biological attacks. He is qualified to provide in-depth commentary on the following issues:

-Bioterrorism preparedness strategy during heightened security

-The effects of toxic radiation on the body

-What Homspera is and how it works

About Dr. Witten

Dr. Mark Witten has over 20 years of experience in the research field and over 200 peer-reviewed scientific publications. In 1990, he became Research Assistant Professor in the Department of Pediatrics at the University of Arizona College of Medicine, where he started his JP-8 inhalation toxicology research for the U.S. Air Force Office of Scientific Research. This research, which focused on toxic inhalation and the resulting Acute Respiratory Distress Syndrome (ARDS), segued into the current radiation research with the DoD. Radiation victims die because the radiation destroys their immune system and consequently they cannot fight bacterial infections or viruses.

Prior to this position, Witten researched the role of lung permeability changes in the lungs after exposure to acute cigarette smoke. With funding obtained from the U.S. Army Medical Research & Material Command, Witten began to develop an acute smoke exposure model utilizing diesel fuel smoke. He spent two years as an instructor of medicine at Harvard Medical School, where he conducted additional research in ARDS/ALI.

Witten received his bachelors degree from Emporia State University in Kansas and his doctorate from Indiana University. He underwent post-doctoral training as a research associate in the Department of Physiology in the College of Medicine at the University of Arizona Health Sciences Center.

To interview Dr. Witten, please contact Stephanie Schroeder at The Investor Relations Group 212-825-3210.

About ImmuneRegen BioSciences, Inc.

ImmuneRegen BioSciences, Inc, is a biotechnology company engaged in the research and development of applications utilizing modified Substance P, a naturally occurring immunomodulator. Derived from homeostatic substance P, the company has named their proprietary compound Homspera." The Companys initial focus in on the continuing development of Homspera for various applications for use in improving pulmonary function and stimulating the human immune system.

About Homspera

ImmuneRegens patents and continued substance P research are derived from discoveries made during research funded by the Air Force Office of Scientific Research in the early 1990s. During this research, Dr. Witten and his associates observed that the exposure of animals to jet fuels resulted in pathological changes in the lung and immune systems of those exposed. It was also observed that such exposure resulted in depletion of substance P from the lungs of the animals. These studies further showed that the administration of substance P might help prevent and reverse the effects of jet fuel exposure in the lungs, as well as protect and regenerate the immune system. The immune findings led to early research on the treatment of exposure to acute radiation and on the possible reversal of lung damage caused by ARDS and cigarette smoke.