Viral Genetics Creates Subsidiary to Develop Canc...( SAN MARINO Calif. A...)

SAN MARINO, Calif., Aug. 7 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Biotechnology company Viral Genetics (Pink Sheets: VRAL) has formed a wholly owned subsidiary called MetaCytoLytics, Inc. This company was created to advance a technology developed by University of Colorado Professor M. Karen Newell called "metabolic disruption technology" (MDT), which focuses on blocking a tumor cell's ability to generate energy from glucose or from fatty acids. That process has been found in animal studies to not only directly cause cancer cells to die but also to synergize with existing treatments such as chemotherapy and radiation therapy to further limit the growth of tumor cells. Dr. Richard J. Trauger, Ph. D., will be chief executive officer of the new company. He will focus on bringing this concept forward into clinic trials and expanding the indications provided by the technology platform.

"The potential for this technology platform is quite exciting," said Dr. Trauger. "Metabolic disruption is a concept that has tantalized cancer researchers for decades. We believe that we finally have the knowledge and tools to turn this concept into a clinical reality."

Dr Karen Newell and her team at the University of Colorado at Colorado Springs have performed over 400 metabolic disruption technology experiments with a large panel of disrupting compounds for proof of principal--either in vitro or in animal models. Dr. Newell, who has been on the cutting edge of metabolic disruption of tumor cells for many years helped develop the process for Viral Genetics.

"The results are consistently supportive that metabolic disruption, in combination with conventional therapies, is very promising for combating drug resistant tumors," said Dr. Newell.

Prior to joining MetaCytoLytics, Inc., Dr. Trauger was the senior director for infectious disease and cancer at Hollis Eden Pharmaceuticals
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