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news.A new preclinical study has suggested that Hemispherx's double-stranded RNA drug candidate, Ampligen, increases the effectiveness of present industry standard Tamiflu, developed by Roche, in inhibiting avian flu.
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The preclinical report, conducted by research affiliates of the National Institutes of Health at Utah State University, compared the relative protection conveyed by Roche’s Tamiflu flu vaccine and Hemispherx’s Ampligen, alone and in combination against the avian flu virus (H5N1).
Cell destruction was measured in-vitro using different drug combinations. Both drugs, given alone, were effective in inhibiting cell destruction by avian influenza, but the researchers stated that viral “suppression with the combination was greater than either drug alone”.
The researchers reported, in summary; “The overall assessment is that there was improvement in cell protection when Ampligen was combined with oseltamivir carboxylate” (Tamiflu). Further immediate experimental tests are planned.
Double-stranded RNA (dsRNA), such as Ampligen, are also specific inducers of broad-spectrum antiviral/immune response. Recently, Japanese researchers have also found that dsRNA’s increase the effectiveness of influenza vaccine by more than 300% and may also convey “cross-protection ability against variant viruses” (mutated strains of influenza virus).