Aethlon Medical Announces First Treatment of an Ebola Patient

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Oct 14, 2014, 07:15 ET

SAN DIEGO, Oct. 14, 2014 /PRNewswire/ -- Aethlon Medical, Inc. (NASDAQ:OTCQB:AEMD), announced today the first use of Hemopurifier® therapy on a patient infected with Ebola virus. The treatment was administered to a Ugandan doctor at the Frankfurt University Hospital in Germany. The patient, who is also a World Health Organization (WHO) worker, contracted the virus in Sierra Leone.

The Aethlon Hemopurifier® is a first-in-class bio-filtration device that targets the rapid elimination of viruses and immunosuppressive proteins from the circulatory system of infected individuals. At present, no antiviral therapy or vaccine has proven to be effective against Ebola virus infection in humans. The largest ebola virus epidemic in history is now spreading on a global basis with more than 4,000 deaths being reported by the WHO.

"We thank the physicians in Frankfurt for allowing us the opportunity to treat this advanced-stage patient," stated Aethlon founder and CEO, Jim Joyce. "Details related to the patient's response to therapy will be disclosed once hospital officials deem it appropriate to report an update on the condition of this individual."

In the care of ebola-infected individuals, the Hemopurifier targets two unmet medical needs: the rapid elimination of circulating ebola to inhibit continued progeny virus replication and the direct targeting of shed glycoproteins that overwhelm the host immune response. The device can be deployed for use within the global infrastructure of dialysis and CRRT machines already located in hospitals and clinics.

Aethlon further disclosed that it is preparing to initiate U.S. clinical studies of Hemopurifier therapy based on the United States Food and Drug Administration's (FDA) approval of an Investigational Device Exemption (IDE) that was previously submitted by the Company. The study will contribute safety data to advance the device as a broad-spectrum countermeasure against pandemic threats, including ebola and chronic viral pathogens such as HIV and Hepatitis C (HCV).

To date, Hemopurifier therapy has been successfully administered in approximately one hundred treatment experiences in health compromised HIV and HCV infected individuals. These studies were conducted at the Apollo Hospital, Fortis Hospital, Sigma New Life Hospital, and the Medanta Medicity Institute, all located in India. In vitro validation studies that demonstrated the ability of the Hemopurifier to capture Zaire and other strains of ebola virus were conducted by researchers at the United States Army Medical Research Institute for Infectious Diseases (USAMRIID) and the United States Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

About Aethlon Medical, Inc.

Aethlon Medical creates medical devices that target unmet therapeutic needs in infectious disease, cancer and neurodegenerative disorders. The company's lead product is the Aethlon Hemopurifier®, a first-in-class device that selectively targets the rapid elimination of circulating viruses and tumor-secreted exosomes that promote cancer progression. Exosome Sciences, Inc. is a majority owned subsidiary that is advancing exosome-based products to diagnose and monitor cancer, infectious disease and neurological disorders. For more information, please visit http://www.aethlonmedical.com/ and connect with the Company on Twitter, LinkedIn, Facebook and Google+.

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 the ESI will not be able to commercialize its future products, that the FDA will not approve the initiation of the Company's clinical programs or provide market clearance of the company's products, future human studies whether revenue or non-revenue generating 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 as a standalone cancer or hepatitis C therapy or as a broad spectrum defense against viral pathogens, including ebola, 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, the ability of the Company to meet the milestones contemplated in the DARPA contract, 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
(Office) 858.459.7800 x301
(Cell) 619-368-2000
[email protected]

Jim Frakes
Chief Financial Officer
858.459.7800 x300
[email protected]

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SOURCE Aethlon Medical, Inc.