CEL-SCI Expands Testing Of Its Vaccine To Determine Efficacy Against More Virulent Strain Of H1N1 Swine And Other Influenza Viruses

CEL-SCI Corporation (NYSE Amex: CVM) announced that it is expanding the pre-clinical testing of its flu vaccine, utilizing its proprietary L.E.A.P.S. technology (Ligand Epitope Antigen Presentation System) to determine its efficacy against the more dangerous and virulent virus strains that may arise during the up coming winter flu season. The Company has begun pre-clinical formulation, evaluation and testing of a new application of its L.E.A.P. S vaccine, which will allow the targeting of “mutated” versions of H1N1 swine and other influenza viruses. It is believed that the influenza virus may mutate and evolve between now and the winter flu season. In conjunction with the testing, CEL-SCI has produced several L.E.A.P.S. flu vaccines that focus on the conserved, non changing epitopes of the different strains of Type A Influenza viruses (H1N1, H5N1, H3N1, etc.), including “swine”, “avian or bird”, and “Spanish Influenza”, in order to minimize the chance of viral “escape by mutations” from immune recognition. CEL-SCI’s L.E.A.P.S. flu vaccine contains epitopes known to be associated with immune protection against influenza in animal models. The Company had previously announced that it had begun pre-clinical testing of swine and H1N1 flu viruses, which were non-mutated versions of the virus.

The use of L.E.A.P.S. vaccine technology for immunization in animal models has already been shown to provide protection from viral diseases without causing an immune response associated with the deadly “cytokine-storm” seen in many of the victims of influenza.

Dr. Daniel Zimmerman, inventor of the L.E.A.P.S. technology, and currently a consultant to CEL-SCI, said, “Various L.E.A.P.S. technology constructs have already been shown to induce protection in animal challenge models against a variety of diseases such as malaria and herpes simplex virus and as therapeutic vaccines in two different autoimmune conditions. Data showed that L.E.A.P.S. vaccines were able to induce these protective immune responses without the excessive induction of pro-inflammatory cytokines. This is thought to be very important in the swine flu, or the avian flu, since it appears that the excessive production of pro-inflammatory cytokines during the course of the disease is responsible for and may lead to the increased number of deaths from these illnesses.”

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