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Hawaii Biotech to Present West Nile Phase 1 Results at 2009 Barcelona Vaccine Conference

From the Hawaii Biotech archive: (Honolulu, June 24 2009) -- Hawaii Biotech, Inc., announced today that its chief scientist, Dr. Beth-Ann Coller, will be participating at the Phacilitate Vaccine Forum Barcelona 2009. As an invited speaker, Dr. Coller will present
Hawaii Biotech to Present West Nile Phase 1 Results at 2009 Barcelona Vaccine Conference

Hi, Biotech is an independent publication with no affiliation with Hawaii Biotech, Inc. This page preserves a historical record from the company's original press archive, republished for research and archival purposes. Copyright in the original material remains with its original owner.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Contact: Dr. Elliot Parks, CEO, 808-342-7281

HAWAII BIOTECH TO PRESENT PHASE 1 RESULTS FOR WEST NILE VIRUS VACCINE AT 2009 BARCELONA VACCINE CONFERENCE

(Honolulu, June 24 2009) -- Hawaii Biotech, Inc., announced today that its chief scientist, Dr. Beth-Ann Coller, will be participating at the Phacilitate Vaccine Forum Barcelona 2009. As an invited speaker, Dr. Coller will present the preliminary results of the company's successful Phase 1 clinical study of its West Nile Virus vaccine on Wednesday, June 24. Hawaii Biotech is developing a West Nile recombinant sub-unit vaccine to induce protective immunity in recipients of the vaccine.

The results demonstrated a favorable safety profile in 24 healthy volunteers across four cohorts. The Phase 1 study was designed as an ascending dose study to assess the safety of Hawaii Biotech's West Nile Virus vaccine among healthy adult volunteers who had not been exposed to West Nile or similar viruses. The study also examined antibody development induced by the vaccine. Based on these results, Hawaii Biotech is preparing to proceed with additional safety studies in adults, as well as ultimately expanding studies into elderly, juvenile and immunocompromised populations.

Hawaii Biotech's recombinant protein production platform allows the manufacture of antigenic proteins without the need for infectious virus. These viral proteins are not infectious, do not cause disease and are the basis for Hawaii Biotech's sub-unit vaccines.

About West Nile Virus: West Nile Virus, spread by exposure to infected mosquitoes, can cause serious, lifealtering and even fatal disease. The most serious manifestation of West Nile Virus infection is fatal encephalitis. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, cases of West Nile Virus infections in humans have been reported in all states except Hawaii, Alaska and Maine. West Nile Virus has been reported in Europe, Western and central Asia, Oceania, Africa, the Middle East, and since 1999, in North America. It has now spread into South America as well.

About Hawaii Biotech Inc.: Hawaii Biotech, Hawaii's oldest and largest biotech company, is a privately held biotechnology company focused on the research and development of prophylactic vaccines for infectious diseases. Hawaii Biotech has developed a proprietary protein production platform that has application to the production of a variety of proteins for use as antigens in infectious disease vaccines. In addition to its work on a West Nile virus vaccine, the company is also developing vaccines for dengue virus and has a pipeline which includes vaccine candidates for malaria, tick borne encephalitis virus and influenza. Hawaii Biotech is headquartered in Honolulu. For more information, please visit: http://www.hibiotech.com.