Aethlon Medical To Present Cancer And Infectious Disease Initiatives, As Well As Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy (CTE) Candidate Biomarker Discovery At Tomorrow's BIO International Convention

SAN DIEGO, June 6, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- Aethlon Medical, Inc. (Nasdaq: AEMD), announced today that Jim Joyce, Chairman and CEO, will be presenting tomorrow (June 7th) at the BIO International Convention being held at Moscone Center in San Francisco, California.  The presentation, which is scheduled to begin at 10:45AM (PT), will review Aethlon Medical's initiatives to combat cancer and infectious disease.  Mr. Joyce will also present the discovery of a non-invasive candidate biomarker to diagnose CTE that was made in collaboration with Exosome Sciences, a majority-owned subsidiary of Aethlon Medical. CTE is a neurological disorder associated with exposure to repetitive head impacts, such as those experienced by American football players.  At present, CTE can only be definitively diagnosed through post-mortem autopsy. The presentation can be accessed on-line through the following link: 
http://www.veracast.com/webcasts/bio/internationalconvention2016/87212220202.cfm

Prior to Mr. Joyce's presentation, Will Smith, the critically acclaimed star of the film "Concussion", will headline the Convention with a keynote address and moderated discussion from 9-10:30AM (PT).  In "Concussion", Smith portrayed Dr. Bennet Omalu, best known for his role in the discovery of CTE in a professional football player.  As part of the keynote presentation, Dr. Omalu will be in attendance with Smith for an interview with Jim Greenwood, BIO's President and Chief Executive Officer.  The BIO International Convention is the world's largest gathering of the biotechnology industry.

About Aethlon Medical

Aethlon Medical (Nasdaq:AEMD) is a leading developer of immunotherapeutic technologies to combat infectious disease and cancer.  To augment the body's natural immune defenses, the Aethlon Hemopurifier® eliminates life-threatening disease targets that are often shielded from the immune system and not well addressed by traditional drug therapies. The technology captures circulating viruses, bacterial toxins and cancer promoting exosomes through affinity attachment to a unique structure that cloaks these targets from immune detection. At present, the Hemopurifier® is being advanced under an FDA approved clinical study. Aethlon is also the majority owner of Exosome Sciences, Inc., a company focused on the discovery of exosomal biomarkers to diagnose and monitor life-threatening diseases.  Additional information can be found online at www.AethlonMedical.com or you can connect with us on Twitter, LinkedIn, Facebook and Google+.

The Hemopurifier® in Cancer

Upwards of ninety percent of all cancer-related deaths are attributed to metastasis; the spread of cancer from a primary site of origin to other organs or areas of the body.  The mechanism of how tumors metastasize to distant sites in the body has long been one of cancer's greatest mysteries.  That mystery was recently solved when circulating particles known as tumor-derived exosomes were discovered to be the seeds that promote the spread and growth of cancer metastasis.

Aethlon initiated its tumor-derived exosome research at a time when the medical community believed exosomes were merely cellular debris with no biological function.  Today, a therapeutic to address tumor-derived exosomes represents a significant unmet need in cancer care.  Aethlon has demonstrated that the affinity mechanism of the Hemopurifier® can capture tumor-derived exosomes underlying several forms of cancer, including breast, ovarian and metastatic melanoma.

Beyond their role in metastasis, researchers have also published mounting evidence that tumor-derived exosomes contribute to tumorigenesis (the formation of cancer), cancer progression, angiogenesis (creation of blood vessels to fuel tumor growth), immune evasion, and resistance to radiation and chemotherapeutic drugs.  Recent discoveries also reveal that exosomes may contribute to bacterial and viral pathogenesis, the progression of Alzheimer and Parkinson's diseases, the spread of prion proteins, and numerous inflammatory conditions.

The Hemopurifier® in Infectious Disease

Emerging pathogens pose a significant threat to mankind.  Of the hundreds of viral pathogens known to be infectious to man, only a few are addressed with proven antiviral drug or vaccine therapies.  Beyond the looming threat of bioterrorism, a proliferation of international travel, urban crowding and global warming is expected to accelerate the emergence of future pandemics.  In response, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) has established an initiative to support platform technology medical countermeasures with broad-spectrum capabilities. Based on preclinical studies and human treatment experiences, the Aethlon Hemopurifier® defines this initiative.

To date, Hemopurifier therapy has been administered to individuals infected with Ebola virus, Hepatitis C virus (HCV) and the Human Immunodeficiency virus (HIV).  In the case of Ebola, a remarkable response to a single administration of Hemopurifier therapy (comatose physician with multiple organ failure at the time), led to Time Magazine naming the Hemopurifier to be one of the "Top 25 Inventions" as well as one of the "Eleven Most Remarkable Advances in Healthcare."

Beyond human treatment experiences, pre-clinical Hemopurifier studies have validated the broad-spectrum capture of numerous viral threats. These include: Chikungunya, Dengue and West Nile virus, as well as Vaccinia and Monkey pox, which serve as models for human Smallpox infection.  Specific to pandemic influenza threats, Aethlon has validated the capture of H5N1 avian flu, H1N1 swine flu, and the reconstructed 1918 influenza virus, which represents a model for the strain of influenza that killed an estimated 50 million victims in 1918 and 1919.  In vitro studies of other viral threats are ongoing. 

Aethlon has also demonstrated that the Hemopurifier captures the bacteria toxins lipopolysaccharide (LPS) and lipoteichoic acid (LTA).  These studies were conducted under a contract with the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) related to the treatment of sepsis.

About Exosome Sciences

Exosome Sciences, Inc., in collaboration with majority shareholder Aethlon Medical (Nasdaq: AEMD), is focused on the discovery of exosomal biomarker candidates to diagnose and monitor life-threatening diseases.  The proprietary Enzyme-Linked Lectin-Specific Assay (ELLSA™) serves as a platform to isolate exosomal biomarkers from a wide-range of bodily fluids.  In preliminary studies, ELLSA™ demonstrated the ability to isolate exosomes from urine, which resulted in high-sensitivity detection of HIV-infection.  Specific to neurological disorders, Exosome Sciences discovered TauSome™, an exosomal biomarker that may be the first non-invasive candidate to detect Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy (CTE) in living individuals.  In a study of former National Football League (NFL) players, TauSome levels were found to be significantly higher as compared to athlete control subjects who participated in non-contact sports. TauSome levels also correlated with cognitive decline based standardized tests of memory and psychomotor speed.   Visit www.exosomesciences.com for additional details.

Contacts:

Mike Smargiassi/Brad Edwards 
Brainerd Communicators, Inc 
212-986-6667 
smarg@braincomm.com

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SOURCE Aethlon Medical, Inc.