Dallas Hughes and Yuriy Dunayevskiy appointed as Vice President of Research and Research Fellow  by Advanced Viral Research Corp (ADVR)

Dec 05, 2007 5:00 AM CST YONKERS, N.Y.-- (BUSINESS WIRE) -- 

Advanced Viral Research Corp. (OTCBB: ADVR), a research based biopharmaceutical company dedicated to anti-cancer drug discovery and development, today announced the appointment of Vincent P. Gullo, Ph.D., as Chief Scientific Officer, Dallas E. Hughes, Ph.D., as Vice President of Research, and Yuriy Dunayevskiy, Ph.D., as Research Fellow. The appointments follow ADVR�s recent acquisition of certain assets and proprietary technology of the former Cetek Corporation.

Dr. Vincent Gullo brings more than 30 years of drug discovery experience to ADVR, having served in research and senior management positions at multinational pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies. He formerly was Vice President of Drug Discovery at Cetek Corporation. Prior to Cetek, Dr. Gullo served as Senior Director of New Lead Discovery at Schering-Plough Research Institute, and was a Research Fellow in natural product chemistry at Merck Research Laboratories. He earned a Ph.D. in Organic Chemistry from Columbia University.

Dr. Dallas Hughes has 19 years of research and senior management experience in biotechnology. He was a founder of Cetek Corporation and served as Senior Vice President of Technology. Prior to Cetek, Dr. Hughes was Director of Biological Research at Exogene Corporation and a scientist at the Barnett Institute of Northeastern University. He received his Ph.D. in Biology from UCLA.

Dr. Yuriy Dunayevskiy brings 11 years of biotechnology research and management experience to ADVR. He served as Principal Scientist and was a Group Leader for New Technology and Assay Development at Cetek Corporation. Dr. Dunayevskiy holds a Ph.D. in Bioanalytical Chemistry from the Barnett Institute of Northeastern University.

Dr. Hughes and Dr. Dunayevskiy developed high-throughput affinity based purification (AFP) at Cetek Corporation and hold the patent to this technology. ADVR acquired the rights to this proprietary drug screening technology as part of its previously announced acquisition.

"We are fortunate to have such high caliber scientists as part of our team,” said Stephen M. Elliston, President and Chief Executive Office of ADVR. “Their expertise in the field of small molecule anti-cancer discovery, coupled with their proven ability to develop innovative drug screening technology, is a perfect fit for the future growth of ADVR."

Advanced Viral Research Corp. is a New York biopharmaceutical company dedicated to improving patients' lives by researching, developing and bringing to market new and effective therapies for cancer, and for controlling the symptoms associated with cancer and other serious diseases. Its initial compound AVR118 represents a new class of cytoprotective agent that targets, among other things, cachexia related disorders. AVR118 has been shown to have topical wound healing properties in animal models. Various degenerative conditions associated with body wasting (cachexia) such as cancer, HIV-AIDS and chronic inflammation are potential disease targets for AVR118 therapy.

Note: This news release contains forward-looking statements that involve risks associated with clinical development, regulatory approvals, including application to the FDA, product commercialization and other risks described from time to time in the SEC reports filed by the Company. AVR118 is not approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration or any comparable agencies of any other countries. There is no assurance that the Company will be able to secure the financing necessary to continue and/or complete the clinical trials of AVR118 or satisfy certain other conditions relating to clinical trials including obtaining adequate insurance on terms acceptable to the Company. The Company undertakes no obligation to update or revise the information contained in this announcement whether as a result of new information, future events or circumstances or otherwise.

For further information regarding Advanced Viral Research Corp., please visit the website at http://www.adviral.com. 

(related by Kristen Jenkins AS'02, MS'07 Northeastern University Associate Director, Development Research & Prospect Management Phone: 617-373-5968)