WILMINGTON, DE, MONTREAL, CA and HANGZHOU, CN, Dec. 6 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ - HolleyPharm Group and Millenia Hope Inc. (FRANKFURT: MLF NASDAQ: OTCBB: MLHP) announced today that they have signed a Memorandum of Understanding to collaborate on the development of a series of new plant-based products for the pharmaceutical and herbal markets using the resources of the two companies.
ABOUT HOLLEYPHARM GROUP & HOLLEY GROUP
With more than 30 years' history, HolleyPharm Group is a privately owned corporation with Holley Group Ltd. as the parent company. With total assets of RMB 4.3 billion and a staff of around 8,000, Holley Group is a trans-regional, multi-industry and export-oriented enterprise, holding 4 publicly listed companies (3 Chinese and 1 NASDAQ). The company's businesses cover metrological instruments, power equipment, information technology, and biopharmaceuticals. The company has a GAP-approved Artemisia cultivation farm in Chongqing, bases in major cities and a distribution network in the provinces of China for their pharmaceutical business. As far as the malaria markets are concerned, Holley has distributed Cotexin, its proprietary monotherapy product dihydroartemisinin, in the malaria endemic countries of Africa for more than 8 years and it has become the leading brand in the region.
Holley Group and its affiliates are one of the world's largest manufacturers and research groups in artemisinin and its derivatives. Holley Group and its affiliates have been farming, extracting, purifying, and manufacturing pharmaceutical grade artemisinin, and developing and manufacturing its derivatives for over two decades. Their products are manufactured under current Good Manufacturing Practice (cGMP) in ICH-WHO-certified facilities in China.
Artemisinin is the first category of a new medicine independently developed by Chinese scientists more than three decades ago. It is also the only herbal medicine conforming to western medicine standards that is ratified by WHO. One of the two Chinese herbal medicines listed in the World Pharmacopoeia, artemisinin is proclaimed by WHO as "an important landmark after quinine in the world's medical history of fighting malaria." Holley Group has invested large amounts of capital in China to promote the integration of artemisinin resources and has devoted major efforts to developing antibiotic combinations of Artemisia annua L, all of which reflect Holley's corporate mission of "Promoting Community Well-being and Fulfilling the Value of Life". www.holley.cn
ABOUT MILLENIA HOPE INC & MILLENIA HOPE BIOPHARMA:
Millenia Hope develops innovative treatments and products that enhance the quality of life, has put in place programs to fight major infectious diseases, and promote healthier lives. MHI is committed to research and development to deliver on global medical needs and to bring hope through healthcare solutions. Founded in 1997 the company has initially focussed on the need to bring safe and affordable herbal therapies to market for major third world diseases such as malaria and HIV. The first product in this series is Malarex MMH18. Millenia is also pursuing inhibitors of HIV RNase H (patent application pending). Successful development of a drug that targets HIV RNase H will play an important role in the treatment of HIV/AIDS patients who have become resistant to current therapy. The revenue of a first-in-class, orally bio-available drugs that targets HIV RNase H is estimated at US$350-$500 million per year. The current market for HIV drugs is about US$6 billion, estimated to reach US$10 billion by 2010. Professor Michael A. Parniak (University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine) presented some of Millenia Hope's results at the 12th conference on Retroviruses and Opportunistic Infections in Boston, Massachusetts (February 2005). MHB also provides a plant based drug discovery platform designed for High Throughput Screening and is currently working with a number of leading multinational corporations such as Pierre Fabre Medicaments. www.mh-b.com and www.milleniahope.com
SAFE HARBOR STATEMENTS:
Certain statements made in this release may contain language describing the plans, goals, strategies, intentions, forecasts, and expectations of Holley Pharmaceuticals Company Inc. that may be referred to as "forward- looking statements." Several important factors could cause actual results to differ materially from those in such forward-looking statements and Holley Pharmaceuticals Company Inc. could encounter unanticipated obstacles and delays in developing products, services and markets.
Source: MILLENIA HOPE BIOPHARMA