PHILADELPHIA, Oct. 17, 2008 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Hemispherx Biopharma, Inc. (AMEX:HEB) today announced that it adjourned its annual stockholders' meeting to Tuesday, November 11, 2008 at 10:00 a.m. at the Crown Plaza Hotel, 1800 Market Street, Philadelphia Pennsylvania 19103.
The meeting, scheduled for October 17, 2008, has been adjourned because the required quorum of a majority of the shares eligible to vote at the meeting was not present at the meeting. Approximately 48.5% of eligible votes were cast; however, a quorum required in excess of 50%. A significant number of stockholders are domiciled in Europe and less readily accessible for notification purposes. To assure that the meeting can be held, the Company's Board of Directors has amended the Company's By-Laws to reduce the quorum for the meeting from a majority to 44% in voting power of the outstanding shares of stock entitled to vote at the meeting. The reduced quorum relates solely to the 2008 Annual Stockholders' Meeting. The Company will continue to solicit proxies in an attempt to receive votes from a majority of the shares eligible to vote at the meeting.
The record date remains July 21, 2008. The purposes for which the meeting is being held remain the same as those listed in the Company's Notice of Annual Meeting of August 1, 2008. Stockholders should address questions about the meeting to the Company's proxy solicitors at MacKenzie Partners, Inc., at (800) 322-2885 or (212) 929-5500, or Dianne Will at (518) 398-6222.
About Hemispherx Biopharma
Hemispherx Biopharma, Inc. is a specialty pharma company engaged in the manufacture and clinical development of new drug entities for treatment of seriously debilitating disorders. Hemispherx's flagship products include Alferon N Injection(r) (FDA approved for a category of sexually transmitted diseases) and the experimental therapeutics Ampligen(r) and Oragens(r). Ampligen(r) and Oragens(r) represent experimental RNA nucleic acids being developed for globally important debilitating diseases and disorders of the immune system. Hemispherx's platform technology includes large and small agent components for potential treatment of various severely debilitating and life threatening diseases. Hemispherx has in excess of 90 issued patents comprising its core intellectual property estate and a fully commercialized product (Alferon N Injection(r)). The Company wholly owns and exclusively operates a GMP certified manufacturing facility in the United States for commercial products. For more information please visit www.hemispherx.net
Information contained in this news release other than historical information, should be considered forward-looking and is subject to various risk factors and uncertainties. For instance, the strategies and operations of Hemispherx involve risk of competition, changing market conditions, change in laws and regulations affecting these industries and numerous other factors discussed in this release and in the Company's filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Any specifically referenced investigational drugs and associated technologies of the Company (including Ampligen(r), Alferon LDO and Oragens) are experimental in nature and as such are not designated safe and effective by a regulatory authority for general use and are legally available only through clinical trials with the referenced disorders. The forward-looking statements represent the Company's judgment as of the date of this release. The Company disclaims, however, any intent or obligation to update these forward-looking statements. Clinical trials for other potential indications of the approved biologic Alferon N Injection(r) do not imply that the product will ever be specifically approved commercially for these other treatment indications; Similarly, the completion of NDA filing process with Ampligen(r) does not imply that the product will ever be approved commercially.