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TWST: Could you give us a brief overview of Hollis-Eden Pharmaceuticals (Nasdaq:HEPH) including the company’s history, the products and services please?

Mr. Burgess: Hollis-Eden is a biotechnology company that began operations in 1997 with our initial round of financing. It was started by a former Genentech executive who wanted to build a biotechnology company that was focused on infectious diseases and immune system disorders. We have developed a technology which we think is a novel way of approaching infectious diseases and that’s really targeted towards correcting immune dysregulation caused by hormonal imbalances. We have several compounds that are now in active development. One of these (HE2000) is in Phase II clinical trials in HIV and we’re moving that compound into clinical trials in other indications as well including malaria and hepatitis B and C. We have another compound that’s in late stage preclinical development and is expected to enter into clinical trials this year. This compound is also being targeted at conditions of immune dysregulation including a number of conditions outside of infectious disease such as the potential for use in cancer therapy in a variety of different ways as well as in a number of autoimmune conditions. We also have access to a third compound through our relationship with Aeson Therapeutics. Aeson is a biotechnology company which we own a 21% interest in and have an option to acquire over a period of 30 months. Aeson has a compound in the same class of compounds we’re developing that is also in Phase II trials in several different indications and represents another opportunity for us to take these compounds forward commercially.

TWST: Could you explain your research and development efforts?

Mr. Burgess: Yes. On the research and development front, we’re developing a whole series of these compounds looking to optimize their activities. We believe we may be able to differentiate a number of these compounds into different therapeutic categories. For example, some may be more active in autoimmune conditions (where we have exciting preclinical data) while others may profile better in the cancer area. In the setting of cancer these compounds can potentially improve hematopoiesis (stimulation of neutrophils and platelets), which is something that’s known to be significantly suppressed as a result of most current cancer therapies. It has now been shown both preclinically and clinically that this class of compounds can have an effect on improving hematopoiesis. These compounds also have a potential to have a direct anti-cancer effect as a result of correcting defects in cell-mediated immunity that, like in HIV, are found in a number of these cancer types. We are now exploring these areas more fully in preclinical studies. In fact, most diseases of the aging are associated with a depletion of the immune regulating hormones we are developing and so it really opens up the opportunity of a hormone replacement therapy in a wide variety of age related conditions. Because of this, we have a very broad preclinical program underway to identify the most attractive of these potential indications.

TWST: What has been your most significant move over the last year?

Mr. Burgess: I think over the last year really two aspects stand out. The most important is understanding and defining the mechanism of action for this class of compounds and its effect on cell-mediated immunity. The second major advance is the fact that we’ve now licensed in a whole variety of additional compounds in this class, giving us the ability to take multiple compounds into the clinic for multiple indications.

TWST: Do you see a role for acquisitions and mergers as you look to grow the company?

Mr. Burgess: We have a pretty full plate at this point. That being said, we’re always open to looking at other technologies that would be synergistic with what we’re developing and certainly we’ve been aggressive on the licensing front with individual compounds and technologies. Whether we would look at acquisitions of companies really would depend on the fit with the rest of the business.