Aethlon Medical Announces Dr. Douglas Taylor as Chief Scientific Officer of Exosome Sciences, Inc.

SAN DIEGO, Sept. 13, 2013 /PRNewswire/ -- Aethlon Medical, Inc. (OTCQB: AEMD), announced today that Dr. Douglas Taylor has accepted the position of Chief Scientific Officer at Exosome Sciences, Inc. (ESI), a wholly owned diagnostic subsidiary of Aethlon Medical.  Dr. Taylor is credited with the discovery of tumor-secreted exosomes and is a leading published author on the topic. "We are truly honored that Dr. Taylor has agreed to lead our research endeavors at Exosome Sciences.  His pioneering research has been instrumental in establishing an industry for exosome-based diagnostics and therapeutics," stated Aethlon Chairman and CEO, Jim Joyce.  The news was first reported through a presentation given by Mr. Joyce at the Exosomes & Circulating Biomarkers 2013 Summit.  Mr. Joyce's presentation occurred after the close of market hours on September 12^th.

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Aethlon Medical develops therapeutic devices to address unmet medical needs in cancer, infectious disease, and other life-threatening conditions.  The Company is preparing to launch the first U.S. studies of the Aethlon Hemopurifier® as a therapy to address hepatitis c virus (HCV) based on the recent approval of an Investigational Device Exemption (IDE) by the United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA).  The Hemopurifier® is a first-in-class device that targets the rapid elimination of viruses and cancer glycopathogens, including disease-promoting exosomes from circulation.

Exosome Sciences was established by Aethlon to pursue exosome-based strategies to diagnose and monitor the progression of cancer, infectious disease and other life-threatening conditions. ESI's lead product, an Enzyme Linked Lectin Specific Assay (ELLSA) has been validated to identify the presence of exosomes underlying the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), tuberculosis (TB), and various forms of cancer, including ovarian, melanoma, breast, lymphoma, and colorectal.

Dr. Taylor stated, "I am extremely excited about joining Exosome Sciences as their Chief Scientific Officer. I have been pioneering the field of exosome biology for more than 35 years and believe that exosomes represent the ideal disease marker due to their stability in the peripheral circulation and ability to be multiplexed. Exosome-based diagnostics will not only be used in identification and management of a variety of cancers, but also in other pathologies such as viral infections, pregnancy complications, birth defects, cardiovascular and neurodegenerative diseases. No other platform exhibits their potential for patient stratification and real-time monitoring of therapeutic responses. I have a long history of collaboration with scientists at Aethlon Medical and this opportunity will expand that interaction to bring ELLSA based assays to the clinic."

The release of exosomes by viable cells has been demonstrated in multiple cell types and systems.  These nano-sized vesicles are detectable in biologic fluids, including blood, urine, ascites, and pleural fluids.  They are essential mediators of normal homeostasis, based on their role in intercellular communication via surface interactions and transfer of macromolecules between cells.  Cell injury or transformation is associated with alterations in the cell's exosome production and composition of these exosomes. This aberrant exosome composition can be utilized as surrogate markers of specific disease pathologies. The ESI mission is to advance an exosome-based biomarker platform to diagnose a broad-spectrum of disease conditions as well as monitor disease progression/regression in response to therapy as a means to improve patient management and outcomes.  In the oncology field, ESI products will also be positioned to serve as companion diagnostics that determine when to initiate Hemopurifier® therapy or provide real-time monitoring of tumor responses to Hemopurifier® therapy.

About Dr. Taylor

Dr. Taylor discovered and pioneered the field of exosome biology and their role in intercellular communication and immune regulation. He has been in the Department of Obstetrics, Gynecology and Women's Health at the University of Louisville School of Medicine since 1992.  Dr. Taylor published the initial article describing circulating tumor exosomes/microvesicles in 1979 (Anal. Biochem. 98:53-59, 1979). The research in his laboratory has primarily focused on the release and consequences of exosomes from gynecologic cancer and lung tumors. Over the past 30+ years, Dr Taylor has pioneered the isolation and characterization of circulating tumor-derived exosomes. His work has focused on characterization of circulating exosomes released by tumor cells for their role in immune regulation and induction of a pro-inflammatory tumor microenvironment. His work has demonstrated that the presence of specific circulating exosomal components have potential use as biomarkers for cancer patients.

About Aethlon Medical

Aethlon Medical creates innovative medical devices that address unmet medical needs in cancer, infectious disease, and other life-threatening conditions. Our Aethlon ADAPT™ System is a revenue-stage technology platform that provides the basis for a new class of devices the rapid, yet selective removal of disease promoting particles from the entire circulatory system.  At present, The Aethlon ADAPT product pipeline includes the Aethlon Hemopurifier to address infectious disease and cancer, and a medical device being developed under a 5-year contract with DARPA to reduce the incidence of sepsis in combat-injured soldiers.  For more information, please visit www.aethlonmedical.com.

Certain statements herein may be forward-looking and involve risks and uncertainties.  Such forward-looking statements involve assumptions, known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors which may cause the actual results, performance or achievements of Aethlon Medical, Inc. to be materially different from any future results, performance, or achievements expressed or implied by the forward-looking statements. Such potential risks and uncertainties include, without limitation, that Company may not be able to secure financing for ESI as a freestanding entity, that ESI will not be able to develop commercially successful products, the FDA will not approve the initiation of the Company's future clinical programs or provide market clearance of the Company's products, future human studies whether revenue or non-revenue generating from either compassionate use or non-compassionate use of the Aethlon ADAPT™ system or the Aethlon Hemopurifier® as an adjunct therapy to improve patient responsiveness to established cancer or hepatitis C therapies or sepsis therapies or as a standalone cancer or hepatitis C therapy or standalone sepsis therapy, the approval of the Company's technologies or products as a treatment against pandemic threats, the Company's ability to raise capital when needed, the Company's ability to complete the development of its planned products, the Company's ability to manufacture its products either internally or through outside companies and provide its services, the impact of government regulations, patent protection on the Company's proprietary technology, product liability exposure, uncertainty of market acceptance, competition, technological change, and other risk factors. In such instances, actual results could differ materially as a result of a variety of factors, including the risks associated with the effect of changing economic conditions and other risk factors detailed in the Company's Securities and Exchange Commission filings. The Company undertakes no obligation to publicly update or revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events, or otherwise.

Contacts:

James A. Joyce
Chairman and CEO
858.459.7800 x301
[email protected]

Jim Frakes
Chief Financial Officer
858.459.7800 x300
[email protected]

Marc Robins
877.276.2467
[email protected]

SOURCE Aethlon Medical, Inc.