No, it was discussed on the last CC:
Emily Lee: Would you be able to give some color on the diagnostic testing? Are we devising
something there? Do we have any potential partners?
Joe Moscato: Yeah, that is a great question. Dr. Hal Hanes is on, so he can answer that who
runs our subsidiary NuGenerex diagnostics. There are tests right now, Emily,
that the CDC has made up. Those tests have to go to the lab. Obviously, our
technology with our diagnostic company is rapid testing, which can give a
response immediately. This is where it does not go to the lab and you are
waiting 24 to 48 hours to get a result. Hal, maybe you would like to go through
what you have been investigating, as well as what potential we have in creating
a rapid diagnostic handheld kit.
Dr. Hal Hanes: Sure Joe, thanks. That is a great question. If you think about what is happening
right now in China on the ground or in other potential high prevalent areas of
coronavirus infection, people are fearful. They are extremely fearful. You see
condo buildings being shut down in Hong Kong. You see whole cities in China
which have streets that are deserted except for necessities. The coronavirus
infection just basically starts out like a common cold or other infection, which
causes fever and sneezing. It is an upper respiratory virus infection. If you can
diagnose it at an early stage in the disease when people do have these initial
symptoms, you could very likely get them into isolation if they do have the
coronavirus. Make sure they are released if they do not have it. They are not a
danger. They can go home and do what they wish. Right now on incoming
airplanes from China, people are being isolated. You have looked at the news
about cruise ships where there is an outbreak, and the whole cruise ship is stuck
at a dock for two weeks or longer. This is to make sure there is no continual
spread.
Generex Investor Call Feb. 13, 2020
Page 30 of 31
Using Eric’s peptides, we can very likely and almost certainly develop an assay. It
would be an oral fluid assay in which a swab is taken from the throat, nose, or
upper respiratory tract. The virus can be detected directly from that swab on
our proprietary Express 2 platform. This test would take about 10 to 15 minutes
to read. It can be done by minimally trained personnel. They do not have to be
lab techs. They do not have to be nurses or doctors. It can be done in a clinic,
but it can also be used at points of entry by security agents. It is by anybody that
is trained a little bit in running the test. Simply take a swab, put it in the tube,
put the test in the swab of the tube, and it develops. That way people who get
into these high security areas can be screened quickly. By the way, most people
who have these symptoms do not have coronavirus.
There is a lot of overlapping symptomatology like the common cold or flu that
give you the same thing. Right now, if you are in those areas you think you
probably do have the coronavirus. We feel this is going to be a rapid test. It can
be done rapidly. It is cheap to produce once we have the proper peptides. It can
be administered universally practically anywhere. That was a great question
right there. Thanks.
Emily Lee: Is there a timeframe where this can be developed for the test tubes?
Dr. Hal Hanes: Yeah. I can give you an estimate. I certainly do not know. It would require us
taking the peptides that Eric produces and analyze this to make sure they are
proper ones. It is raising antibodies to them in animals. This can be done
relatively quickly. There are lots of animals where it can be done that way. Use
those antibodies as the analytical reagent. In other words, we put them on a
strip. It is like a diabetes strip, except for infectious diseases. We have a lot of
expertise in this. We put them on a strip. We have a control line. We put the
oral fluid after it has been diluted. Let it run up on the strip. The line with the
antibodies to the coronavirus, if there is a coronavirus in that sample, will light
up. The control line will light up. We will be able to say that person does not or
does have coronavirus. I would say probably once the peptides are fully
developed and we can immunize animals with them, there are many companies
that can do this rapidly. We should probably have an assay in three to four
months after those events occur.
Emily Lee: All right. Thank you so much. Are there any interested parties out there? For
example, is the Chinese government aware of this diagnostic test kit that you
guys are?
Dr. Hal Hanes: I think, Joe, you can answer this. I think this is part of the presentation to them
as an aside to the vaccine. Diagnosis goes hand-in-hand together with treatment
or vaccination. You have to have the diagnosis. The vaccination you can use for
everybody. We need to know the diagnosis for people to get treated properly.
Those who have had the virus probably do not need to get diagnosed.
Joe Moscato: Yeah, do not forget too. We are not treatment. We are vaccination.
Generex Investor Call Feb. 13, 2020
Page 31 of 31
Dr. Hal Hanes: Right. Right.
Joe Moscato: Treatment is like a Gilead product. You know? You have corona. You are very,
very sick. You are in a hospital. You have major symptomatic events going on.
Then they give you the Gilead product. Here, we are trying to guard against
severe symptoms at the very least. Guard against severe symptoms. This is all
the way up to full inoculations. That is something that we have discussed with
our Chinese partners. The big interest right now is the vaccine.
Emily Lee: I see. It just seemed like there was such a low supply of test kits. I would think
the test kit should be of great interest too. This is especially recently I read on
the news that some test kits provided to different states or cities are faulty in
the US. I would just think this could be a very huge opportunity.
Joe Moscato: Yeah, we feel the same exact way. I mean, in reality, doing the tests that are
now provided takes time. You have to send them to a lab. The lab has thousands
and thousands of these test kits, I am sure, based upon what is going on out
there. It is going to take time to get those diagnoses. Here, we have a rapid,
ready to go, in-hand test that lets you know five or ten minutes later if that
person is infected. Though we have not made great strides yet in figuring out
how to commercialize that for what is going on right now, the main focus has
been right now the vaccine.
Emily Lee: Okay yeah. Okay great. Thank you so much for your hard work. It sounds
wonderful what you guys are doing. I appreciate your hard work.
Emily Lee: Would you be able to give some color on the diagnostic testing? Are we devising
something there? Do we have any potential partners?
Joe Moscato: Yeah, that is a great question. Dr. Hal Hanes is on, so he can answer that who
runs our subsidiary NuGenerex diagnostics. There are tests right now, Emily,
that the CDC has made up. Those tests have to go to the lab. Obviously, our
technology with our diagnostic company is rapid testing, which can give a
response immediately. This is where it does not go to the lab and you are
waiting 24 to 48 hours to get a result. Hal, maybe you would like to go through
what you have been investigating, as well as what potential we have in creating
a rapid diagnostic handheld kit.
Dr. Hal Hanes: Sure Joe, thanks. That is a great question. If you think about what is happening
right now in China on the ground or in other potential high prevalent areas of
coronavirus infection, people are fearful. They are extremely fearful. You see
condo buildings being shut down in Hong Kong. You see whole cities in China
which have streets that are deserted except for necessities. The coronavirus
infection just basically starts out like a common cold or other infection, which
causes fever and sneezing. It is an upper respiratory virus infection. If you can
diagnose it at an early stage in the disease when people do have these initial
symptoms, you could very likely get them into isolation if they do have the
coronavirus. Make sure they are released if they do not have it. They are not a
danger. They can go home and do what they wish. Right now on incoming
airplanes from China, people are being isolated. You have looked at the news
about cruise ships where there is an outbreak, and the whole cruise ship is stuck
at a dock for two weeks or longer. This is to make sure there is no continual
spread.
Generex Investor Call Feb. 13, 2020
Page 30 of 31
Using Eric’s peptides, we can very likely and almost certainly develop an assay. It
would be an oral fluid assay in which a swab is taken from the throat, nose, or
upper respiratory tract. The virus can be detected directly from that swab on
our proprietary Express 2 platform. This test would take about 10 to 15 minutes
to read. It can be done by minimally trained personnel. They do not have to be
lab techs. They do not have to be nurses or doctors. It can be done in a clinic,
but it can also be used at points of entry by security agents. It is by anybody that
is trained a little bit in running the test. Simply take a swab, put it in the tube,
put the test in the swab of the tube, and it develops. That way people who get
into these high security areas can be screened quickly. By the way, most people
who have these symptoms do not have coronavirus.
There is a lot of overlapping symptomatology like the common cold or flu that
give you the same thing. Right now, if you are in those areas you think you
probably do have the coronavirus. We feel this is going to be a rapid test. It can
be done rapidly. It is cheap to produce once we have the proper peptides. It can
be administered universally practically anywhere. That was a great question
right there. Thanks.
Emily Lee: Is there a timeframe where this can be developed for the test tubes?
Dr. Hal Hanes: Yeah. I can give you an estimate. I certainly do not know. It would require us
taking the peptides that Eric produces and analyze this to make sure they are
proper ones. It is raising antibodies to them in animals. This can be done
relatively quickly. There are lots of animals where it can be done that way. Use
those antibodies as the analytical reagent. In other words, we put them on a
strip. It is like a diabetes strip, except for infectious diseases. We have a lot of
expertise in this. We put them on a strip. We have a control line. We put the
oral fluid after it has been diluted. Let it run up on the strip. The line with the
antibodies to the coronavirus, if there is a coronavirus in that sample, will light
up. The control line will light up. We will be able to say that person does not or
does have coronavirus. I would say probably once the peptides are fully
developed and we can immunize animals with them, there are many companies
that can do this rapidly. We should probably have an assay in three to four
months after those events occur.
Emily Lee: All right. Thank you so much. Are there any interested parties out there? For
example, is the Chinese government aware of this diagnostic test kit that you
guys are?
Dr. Hal Hanes: I think, Joe, you can answer this. I think this is part of the presentation to them
as an aside to the vaccine. Diagnosis goes hand-in-hand together with treatment
or vaccination. You have to have the diagnosis. The vaccination you can use for
everybody. We need to know the diagnosis for people to get treated properly.
Those who have had the virus probably do not need to get diagnosed.
Joe Moscato: Yeah, do not forget too. We are not treatment. We are vaccination.
Generex Investor Call Feb. 13, 2020
Page 31 of 31
Dr. Hal Hanes: Right. Right.
Joe Moscato: Treatment is like a Gilead product. You know? You have corona. You are very,
very sick. You are in a hospital. You have major symptomatic events going on.
Then they give you the Gilead product. Here, we are trying to guard against
severe symptoms at the very least. Guard against severe symptoms. This is all
the way up to full inoculations. That is something that we have discussed with
our Chinese partners. The big interest right now is the vaccine.
Emily Lee: I see. It just seemed like there was such a low supply of test kits. I would think
the test kit should be of great interest too. This is especially recently I read on
the news that some test kits provided to different states or cities are faulty in
the US. I would just think this could be a very huge opportunity.
Joe Moscato: Yeah, we feel the same exact way. I mean, in reality, doing the tests that are
now provided takes time. You have to send them to a lab. The lab has thousands
and thousands of these test kits, I am sure, based upon what is going on out
there. It is going to take time to get those diagnoses. Here, we have a rapid,
ready to go, in-hand test that lets you know five or ten minutes later if that
person is infected. Though we have not made great strides yet in figuring out
how to commercialize that for what is going on right now, the main focus has
been right now the vaccine.
Emily Lee: Okay yeah. Okay great. Thank you so much for your hard work. It sounds
wonderful what you guys are doing. I appreciate your hard work.
