Recent outbreaks of the Lassa Hemorrhagic Fever in Africa show vital need for new products that can be processed in any clinical or field lab DENVER, July 10 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Corgenix Medical Corporation (OTC:CONX) (BULLETIN BOARD: CONX) , a worldwide developer and marketer of diagnostic test kits, has announced an expansion of the collaborative effort for developing test kits for viral hemorrhagic fever (VHF) detection. The viral products are being produced under a grant awarded by the National Institutes of Health (NIH) and were developed by Corgenix in collaboration with Tulane University, the U.S. Army Medical Research Institute of Infectious Diseases (USAMRIID), BioFactura, Inc., Autoimmune Technologies, LLC and various partners in West Africa. Joining the collaboration is Vybion, Inc., an Ithaca, N.Y., based biotechnology company. Vybion CEO Lee Henderson, Ph.D., stated, "We are pleased to be able to work with Corgenix, Tulane and the other partners. With our deep experience in protein expression from bacterial and mammalian cells and our extensive technology portfolio, we will be able to provide the commercial scale-up for the recombinant protein efforts." "The addition of Vybion to our group is an important step in achieving full commercialization of the products developed under this collaboration," said Douglass Simpson, Corgenix President and CEO. "We already have products in the field in Africa, and with Vybion's capabilities in producing large quantities of the critical reagents, we have the supply chain necessary for full scale production of these critically important detection products." Corgenix and the other partners have developed and applied for a patent for new recombinant proteins for Lassa virus. Lassa fever, a serious viral infection spread by contact with infected rodents, is estimated to infect 300,000 to 500,000 people per year across West Africa, with approximately 5,000 deaths. Current tests are expensive, not commercially available, can take days to return results, and usually require the culture of live Lassa virus in a high-containment laboratory to produce reagents. In some areas of Sierra Leone and Liberia, up to 16 percent of people admitted to hospitals have Lassa fever. Lassa fever is also associated with occasional epidemics, during which the case-fatality rate can reach 50 percent. New outbreaks of the Lassa hemorrhagic fever have been reported recently. Daniel Bausch MD, MPH&TM, Director of the Mano River Union Lassa Fever Network and Tulane's Program in West Africa, observed, "We are now seeing a much broader presence of this disease in Africa. Within the past two months alone we have seen an increase in the number of cases in Nigeria, with increased fatalities. It is critical that the assays we have already developed and are using in Africa, as well as others still in our development pipeline, become fully deployed to aid in this vital effort." Corgenix said the new tests already developed by the group can be run in just 90 minutes, and unlike other virus tests, don't require specially designed and engineered Biosafety Level 4 (BSL-4) laboratories operated by specially trained personnel. This makes the products ideal for important clinical areas such as Africa, as well as the bioterrorism concern. Under the NIH grant, Tulane has been leading a three-year study designed to develop better tests for VHFs, some of which are potential bioterrorism agents due to their high fatality rate and ease of transmission from person to person. Robert Garry, Ph.D., Professor of Microbiology and Immunology at the Tulane University School of Medicine and Principle Investigator of the program, added, "We have been very pleased with the results of our development effort. The products have shown to be remarkably effective in clinical settings in Africa and will have a meaningful impact on the healthcare in that part of the world, but will also fill a critical gap in bioterrorism defense. Now with the addition of Vybion, Corgenix can successfully scale-up the production to address both needs." Dr. Garry stated that the group intends to expand this program to address other important infectious agents-such as Ebola, Marburg and other hemorrhagic fever viruses-that are of concern to the public health and bioterrorism preparedness communities. About Corgenix Medical Corporation Corgenix is a leader in the development and manufacturing of specialized diagnostic kits for emerging pathogens and bio-threat agents, immunology disorders, vascular diseases and bone and joint disorders, including the world's only non-blood-based test for aspirin effect. Corgenix diagnostic products are commercialized for use in clinical laboratories throughout the world. The company currently sells over 50 diagnostic products through a global distribution network. More information is available at http://www.corgenix.com/. About Tulane University Tulane University (New Orleans LA) was founded in 1834. Tulane is one of the most highly regarded and selective research universities in the United States, and is a member of the prestigious Association of American Universities. Tulane's schools and colleges offer undergraduate, graduate and professional degrees in the liberal arts, science and engineering, architecture, business, law, social work, medicine and public health and tropical medicine. About Vybion, Inc. Vybion (Ithaca, N.Y.) is an emerging biotechnology company with a proprietary biopharmaceutical drug pipeline and platform technology for human monoclonal antibody selection and affinity maturation. The Company's contract division has developed over 100 recombinant proteins in multiple expression systems including 10 drugs in various phases of clinical development. About USAMRIID USAMRIID, located at Fort Detrick, Maryland, is the lead medical research laboratory for the U.S. Biological Defense Research Program, and plays a key role in national defense and in infectious disease research. The Institute conducts basic and applied research on biological threats resulting in medical solutions (such as vaccines, drugs and diagnostics) to protect the warfighter. While USAMRIID's primary mission is focused on the military, its research often has applications that benefit society as a whole. USAMRIID is a subordinate laboratory of the U.S. Army Medical Research and Materiel Command. For more information, visit http://www.usamriid.army.mil/ Statements in this press release that are not strictly historical facts are "forward-looking" statements (identified by the words "believe", "estimate", "project", "expect" or similar expressions) within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These statements inherently involve risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from the forward-looking statements. Factors that would cause or contribute to such differences include, but are not limited to, continued acceptance of the Company's products and services in the marketplace, competitive factors, changes in the regulatory environment, and other risks detailed in the Company's periodic report filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The statements in this press release are made as of today, based upon information currently known to management, and the Company does not undertake any obligation to publicly update or revise any forward-looking statements. The information contained in this press release does not necessarily reflect the position or the policy of the Government and no official endorsement should be inferred. DATASOURCE: Corgenix Medical Corporation CONTACT: William Critchfield, Senior VP and CFO of Corgenix Medical Corp., +1-303-453-8903, ; or Media, Dan Snyders, Vice President, Public Relations Supervisor of Armada Medical Marketing, +1-303-623-1190 x 230, or Fax, +1-303-623-1191, , for Corgenix Medical Corp. Web site: http://www.corgenix.com/ http://www.usamriid.army.mil/

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