We also announced last year that internationally renowned drug development expert Dr. Leslie Benet joined the board. The recipient of six honorary doctorates, Dr. Benet, is best known for his work related to pharmacokinetics and pharmacodynamics ”the processes by which the human body absorbs and eliminates drugs and the pharmacologic effects observed from those drugs.

The board now includes:  

Dr. C. Everett Koop  Former U.S. Surgeon GeneralDr. Luc Montagnier  Co-winner of the Nobel Prize for Medicine and co-discoverer of HIV virus Dr. Eric Rosenberg  Associate professor, Harvard Medical School Dr. Leslie Benet  Drug development expertMarshall C. Phelps  Head of intellectual property for Microsoft Corporation Richard T. Gerstner  Former senior corporate executive for IBM and Telular Corporation Anthony Freda, Jr.  Senior executive with global business management experience

Financial Highlights

We achieved significant improvements in our financial outlook during 2009. Burdensome debt has been retired or converted to stock, enabling us to dedicate our resources to our core mission. Additionally, we began filing updated financial statements and making corporate disclosures through Pink Sheets.

Financial highlights for the year include:

Retired a total of $3.4 million of debt through conversion to common stock: $2.2 million of convertible debt representing substantially all of Viral Genetics' remaining liabilities associated with its 2006 registered private placement financing$500,000 of debt settlement for previously-disputed vendor payables and litigation expenses associated with our 2006 South African clinical trial and distribution management agreement$500,000 of debt held by company insiders$200,000 of other debts for services and acquisitions Raised a total of $2.4 million through private placement of common stock and warrants, as well as warrant and option exercise.Filed updated financial statements and corporate disclosures on the OTCIQ system available at www.pinksheets Funded through trial and advanced ongoing litigation with Timothy and Thomas, LLC, and its principals, related to South African Distribution Management Agreement.

Lead Scientist Dr. M. Karen Newell

Dr. Newell's scientific research and discoveries appear to compliment and enhance the over 10 years of human clinical experience we have at Viral Genetics. The acquisition of the rights to targeted peptide technologies holds significant promise to finally close the circle on our understanding of TNP. Dr. Newell has applied her expertise to our initial line of investigation, including identifying the active components and the likely mechanism of action.

Dr. Newell, PhD., leads a team of scientists that are actively engaged in developing our portfolio of drug compounds. Dr. Newell is a full professor in the Department of Biology at the University of Colorado, scientific director of the CU Institute of Bioenergetics, and the Clement and Margaret Markert endowed professor of biology. She formerly served as an associate director, Center for Computational Biology. She has authored or co-authored several dozen peer-reviewed papers predominantly focused on immunology and cellular metabolism, and she has over 30 issued or pending patents in her name.

The Competitive Landscape

Our licensed patent rights and licensing agreements give Viral Genetics the exclusive right to develop products based on TPT, TNP and MDT. We believe our lines of research hold tremendous promise for victims of devastating autoimmune diseases such as HIV, AIDS, and Lyme Disease, among others. We also have great hope about our approach to eventually addressing drug resistant cancer cells. Many researchers are now publishing peer-reviewed papers that validate our scientists' initial findings. However, our years of scientific effort and the financial investment it took to get our drug therapies to their current stage of development are solidly protected by exclusively licensed patent rights under and our license agreements.

SOURCE Viral Genetics, Inc.