Based on research conducted at the Hadassah University Medical Center, Immuron, an Australian biopharmaceutical company, is developing medications to treat the flu.
The findings are a result of a collaboration between Hadassah’s research team, led by Prof. Yaron Ilan, Director of Hadassah’s Department of Medicine A and Immuron Chief Medical Officer, and a research team from the University of Melbourne in Australia. They reveal that the common flu can be treated (and perhaps even prevented) with natural antibodies found in colostrum, the milk cows produce immediately after calving. Australian authorities recently awarded Immuron a patent for the medication on the basis of the positive results of pre-clinical studies conducted at Hadassah. In light of these findings, Hadassah and Immuron will conduct clinical trials on animals to determine if the colostrum antibodies are equally effective in treating the H1N1 virus, known as swine flu.
Hadasit, Hadassah’s technology transfer company, is the main stockholder in Immuron, which is traded on the Australian stock exchange.
A few months ago, Hadassah researchers revealed positive results of a clinical trial for treating Fatty Liver Disease with 124-IMM, also based on natural antibodies found in colostrum. Hadassah’s researchers demonstrated that when taken orally, the medication improves the human immune system’s response. The results prompted the planning of an advanced clinical trial to test the medication’s efficacy on patients in Israel and the United States.
