Sept 5, 2003

BUFFALO, NY, September 5, 2003 - A $75,000 grant award from the John R. Oishei Foundation is allowing the Hauptman-Woodward Medical Research Institute to continue research on Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS). Partnering with ZeptoMetrix Corporation, a leader in the field of viral diagnostics and detection located in the Buffalo Niagara Medical Campus and Virionyx Corporation Ltd., a biopharmaceutical development company located in Aukland, New Zealand, HWI researchers are trying to develop antibody and antiviral treatments for Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS). Over 25 individuals from the three organizations are participating in this project. With this grant award we hope to achieve preliminary results that will allow us to seek new funding through federal sources.

SARS is a respiratory illness caused by a coronavirus, which is a relative of the common cold virus. SARS emerged as a worldwide threat to human health in February 2003 due to the ease of transmission and modern transportation. As of August 7, 2003 there have been over 8,400 reported cases in Europe, Asia, North America, and South America resulting in 745 deaths. Most recently on August 14, a SARS-like coronavirus was found at a facility in British Columbia.

Currently, there is no way to reliably test for the early detection of the SARS virus and there is no treatment for this deadly disease. HWI, ZeptoMetrix and Virionyx are combining their resources and expertise to tackle these issues. More specifically, we are attempting to: produce all of the SARS proteins for the purpose of structural study, therapeutic antibody generation, and development of a viral detection kit; solve the structures of the SARS proteins for use in structure-based drug design of antiviral compounds; and understand the mechanisms of viral infection and replication that can be applied to other infectious viruses. Within an infected cell, the SARS virus makes 13 proteins required for its replication. At HWI, we have already cloned and expressed 10 of those proteins with two already in crystallization trials. Additionally, the virus has a total of four envelope proteins. We have successfully cloned three of those four proteins and have expressed one.

Founded in 1956, the Hauptman-Woodward Medical Research Institute (HWI) is an independent, non-profit biomedical research facility specializing in structural biology and the use of x-ray crystallography. The HWI staff consists of over 25 Ph.D. level scientists and 20 technical staff members who are working on over 75 different research projects that involve methods development, disease research, and drug design. The Institute has a proven record of accomplishment in the areas of structural studies including development of methods for crystal structure determination, methods for high throughput robotic protein crystal screening, and methods for cloning and expression of proteins in yeast, bacteria, mammalian or insect cells. The Institute is currently home to the University at Buffalo’s Structural Biology Department and the NASA Institute for Structural Biology.

ZeptoMetrix is a fully integrated biotechnology company located in the Buffalo Niagara Medical Campus in close proximity to Hauptman-Woodward Medical Research Institute and Roswell Park Cancer Institute. ZeptoMetrix (formerly Cellular Products, Inc) was one of the first companies to develop FDA approved blood screening kits for HIV and HTLV and is a worldwide expert in the handling of infectious agents. It has status as a small business as defined by the Department of Health and Human Services.

Virionyx Corporation Limited is a biopharmaceutical product development company, based in Auckland, New Zealand. The company is engaged in the development of therapeutics and vaccines against infectious diseases using a proprietary platform technology from which its first therapeutic, PEHRG214, a passive immunotherapy for HIV, was designed. In March 2002, Virionyx completed an FDA approved Phase I clinical trial of PEHRG214 at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Centre, Harvard Medical School, Boston, USA and in November 2002 Virionyx commenced a multi-dose Phase I/II clinical trial of this product at Harvard Medical School.

The John R. Oishei Foundation's mission is to enhance the quality of life for Buffalo area residents by supporting education, healthcare, scientific research and the cultural, social, civic and other charitable needs of the community. The Foundation was established in 1940 by John R. Oishei, founder of Trico Products Corporation, one of the world's leading manufacturers of windshield wiper systems.