Advanced Life Sciences expands partnership with U.S. Government to assess Restanza against STI's

Advanced Life Sciences Holdings, Inc. (OTC Bulletin Board: ADLS), a biopharmaceutical company engaged in the discovery, development and commercialization of novel drugs in the therapeutic areas of infection, oncology and respiratory diseases, today announced the expansion of its collaboration with the U.S. Government to include the evaluation of Restanza's activity against sexually transmitted infections (STI's), such as gonorrhea.  Under the expanded agreement, Restanza's in vitro activity against Neisseria gonorrhoeae and other key STI's will be assessed, with the potential to advance Restanza into clinical development in government-sponsored clinical trials.

The activity of Restanza has been evaluated against 148 N. gonorrhoeae isolates and demonstrated significant in vitro activity as measured by minimal inhibitory concentration (MIC), the lowest concentration of an antimicrobial that will inhibit the visible growth of a microorganism.  Restanza was comparable in activity to azithromycin and ciprofloxacin and superior to erythromycin and clarithromycin, the antibiotics commonly used to treat gonorrhea infections.

"We believe that Restanza has demonstrated significant promise as a potent treatment for gonorrhea and other sexually transmitted infections and we are excited to expand our partnership with the U.S. Government beyond biodefense to further explore its therapeutic activity," said Dr. Michael T. Flavin, Chief Executive Officer. "Conventional antibiotic approaches are proving to be ineffective against drug-resistant strains of gonorrhea, thus increasing the urgent need for new antibiotic interventions to combat this growing global public health threat. Restanza's broad activity against community-acquired, bioterror and other bacterial pathogens make it an ideal candidate for government-supported development. We look forward to partnering with the government to address this important health challenge."