16.08.2010 11:00:00

NanoViricides Reports that its Drug Candidates Demonstrated Significant Inhibition of Herpes Virus Infection

NanoViricides, Inc. (OTC BB: NNVC.OB) (the "Company"), reports that its anti-Herpes drug candidates demonstrated significant efficacy in the recently completed cell culture studies. The studies were performed in the laboratory of Dr. Ken Rosenthal at Northeastern Ohio Universities Colleges of Medicine and Pharmacy.

Several of the anti-Herpes nanoviricides® demonstrated a dose-dependent maximal inhibition of Herpes virus infectivity in a cell culture model. Almost complete inhibition of the virus production was observed at clinically usable concentrations. These studies employed the H129 strain of herpes simplex virus type 1 (HSV-1). H129 is an encephalitic strain that closely resembles a clinical isolate; it is known to be more virulent than classic HSV-1 laboratory strains. The H129 strain will be used in subsequent animal testing of nanoviricides.

This anti-HSV program is designed for the development of an effective anti-herpes nanoviricide drug for the treatment of cold sores or genital herpes simplex virus infections. The Company plans to develop this drug as a skin cream or ointment formulation for external application.

The nanoviricides® mechanism of action is believed to mimic a natural host cell receptor by which the virus binds and infects cells; binding of a nanoviricide nanomicelle to the virus renders it non-infectious. A nanoviricide would thus stop the spread of the viral infection to new uninfected cells. This mechanism is different from that of currently available anti-Herpes drugs and therefore is expected to be complementary to that of the current drugs.

"These results extend the earlier results of our anti-Herpes nanoviricides® testing in different HSV-1 cell culture models at other laboratories,” said Randall Barton, PhD, Chief Scientific Officer of the Company, adding, "These studies will enable the selection of optimal anti-Herpes nanoviricides® for evaluation in animal models of Herpes virus infections.”

Dr. Rosenthal’s laboratory has developed an improved mouse model of skin-infection by HSV-1 that exhibits uniform onset and progression of zosteriform lesions. The virulent H129 HSV-1 strain will be used for evaluating selected NanoViricides in this model. The uniform disease onset and progression make it an ideal model for comparative testing of various drug candidates that, the Company believes, can be expected to lead to a broad-spectrum anti-HSV antiviral treatment capable of attacking both HSV-1 and HSV-2.

The Company has developed a library of small chemical ligands that bind to the herpes virus envelope proteins. Using these ligands, a number of candidate nanoviricides that are capable of attacking the herpes virus have been developed. The Company believes that these nanoviricide drug candidates mimic the natural, common attachment function of the body’s host cells using which both HSV-1 and HSV-2 cause infection.

"We are very excited about these results,” said Eugene Seymour, MD, MPH, CEO of the Company, adding, "We are now one step closer to the development of our anti-Herpes nanoviricide drug.”

About Dr. Rosenthal and NEOUCOM

Dr. Rosenthal is a professor of microbiology, immunology and biochemistry at Northeastern Ohio Universities Colleges of Medicine and Pharmacy (NEOUCOM). He is a leading researcher in the field of herpes viruses. His research interests encompass several aspects of how herpes simplex virus (HSV) interacts with the host to cause disease. His research has addressed how HSV infects skin cells and examined viral properties that facilitate its virulence and ability to cause encephalitis. He is also researching how the human host immune response works against HSV for the development of protective and therapeutic vaccines.

The Northeastern Ohio Universities Colleges of Medicine and Pharmacy (NEOUCOM) is a community-based, public institution focused on the interprofessional training of health professionals. Through its educational, research and service mission, NEOUCOM improves the quality of health care in northeast Ohio. The University is a member of the university system of Ohio and its partners include teaching hospitals, community sites and boards of health.

About NanoViricides:

NanoViricides, Inc. (www.nanoviricides.com) is a development stage company that is creating special purpose nanomaterials for viral therapy. The Company's novel nanoviricide® class of drug candidates are designed to specifically attack enveloped virus particles and to dismantle them. The Company is developing drugs against a number of viral diseases including H1N1 swine flu, H5N1 bird flu, seasonal Influenza, HIV, oral and genital Herpes, viral diseases of the eye including EKC and herpes keratitis, Hepatitis C, Rabies, Dengue fever, and Ebola virus, among others.

This press release contains forward-looking statements that reflect the Company's current expectation regarding future events. Actual events could differ materially and substantially from those projected herein and depend on a number of factors. Certain statements in this release, and other written or oral statements made by NanoViricides, Inc. are "forward-looking statements” within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933 and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934. You should not place undue reliance on forward-looking statements since they involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors which are, in some cases, beyond the Company's control and which could, and likely will, materially affect actual results, levels of activity, performance or achievements. The Company assumes no obligation to publicly update or revise these forward-looking statements for any reason, or to update the reasons actual results could differ materially from those anticipated in these forward-looking statements, even if new information becomes available in the future. Important factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from the company's expectations include, but are not limited to, those factors that are disclosed under the heading "Risk Factors" and elsewhere in documents filed by the company from time to time with the United States Securities and Exchange Commission and other regulatory authorities. Although it is not possible to predict or identify all such factors, they may include the following: demonstration and proof of principle in pre-clinical trials that a nanoviricide is safe and effective; successful development of our product candidates; our ability to seek and obtain regulatory approvals, including with respect to the indications we are seeking; the successful commercialization of our product candidates; and market acceptance of our products.

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