Press Releases

Press Release: Nov. 8, 2001
TheraLife^® announces highly successful results from clinical trial for innovative treatment of dry eyes and eye fatigue.

Conditions Affect 60 Million People Each Year

Results to be Presented at the Fall Symposium of California Optometric Association November 9-11, 2001 in Monterey

Los Altos, Calif. (Nov. 8, 2001) - TheraLife, Inc., an emerging leader in the discovery and development of innovative botanical drugs and cutting-edge drug enhancement technologies, today announced highly successful results from its clinical trial for an innovative treatment of a range of eye conditions that affect 60 million people each year in the U.S. alone.

Results from the six site, double blind, placebo-controlled clinical trials indicate "high clinical efficacy" for conditions including dry eyes, eye fatigue, eyestrain, computer vision syndrome, and contact lens discomfort. Improvement was seen as soon as one week.

The trials were conducted by leading optometrists and ophthalmologists in California and analyzed and tabulated by the Health Research and Studies Center, an independent clinical research organization. The results will be presented in an exhibition at the Fall Symposium of the California Optometric Association November 9-11 in Monterey, Calif., The company plans to submit its findings to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration shortly thereafter.

"The results demonstrate that our unique oral formulations relieve dry eyes and eye fatigue in cases where conventional treatment modalities have failed," said Lily C.Yang, PhD, CEO and President of TheraLife, Inc.

The oral therapy, using the company's patent-pending TheraLife^® Eye and TheraLife^® Enhancer botanical formulations, "offers substantial advantages over conventional treatments, including eye drops, such as artificial tears, and punctal plugs."

"The TheraLife^® approach relieves pain and discomfort rapidly with little or no side effects," said Dr. Yang. "Unlike eye drops, which evaporate quickly and are inconvenient to use, relief with TheraLife^® Eye is sustained over time."

"Actually, prolonged use of eye drops may cause the eye to secret fewer tears, aggravating the condition, " Dr. Yang explained. "The eye health industry has been looking for a systemic capsule that can treat dry eyes through increased tear secretion, and now we can prove that it is here."

"Perhaps the most exciting aspect of the studies," said Dr. Yang, "is the indication that the formulation allows therapeutic agents in the blood to reach the eye, which is normally difficult to access. Delivering therapy to the eye has been one of healthcare's greatest challenges. Because the results were so positive, we are now studying the therapeutic effects on age-related macular degeneration, diabetic retinopathy, glaucoma and cataracts, all major causes of blindness."

Physicians involved with TheraLife's clinical trials are equally enthusiastic about the new product:

"The ability to increase tear secretion through an oral medication is a breakthrough, one that has not been achieved previously," said Ronald G. Seger, OD, FAAO, Mountain View, Calif. "The results of the study are highly correlative with seven different symptoms, a significant achievement."

"The vast majority of people and especially computer users," said Judy Turkaij, MD, San Francisco, Calif., "don't realize that they have dry eye syndrome. The TheraLife^® Eye approach offers remarkably rapid improvement. The unique formulation has proven to be a compelling advantage."

Dry eyes are usually characterized by one or more of the following symptoms: itchiness, sandy-grittiness, redness, burning, excessive blinking, pain, blurriness, tiredness, or contact lens discomfort.

The causes of dry eyes are well documented. Dry eyes and eye fatigue are frequently caused by LASIK surgery, environmental factors, air conditioning, aging, allergies, contact lens use, certain medications, chronic diseases, and last, but not least, computer vision syndrome. The American Optometric Association reports that more than 70 percent of the 75 million Americans who work on computers every day suffer eye- or vision-related problems. A recent study by the National Academy of Sciences estimates these injuries cost companies $45-50 billion each year, a major cause of employee disability and lost productivity in the workplace.

Dr. Yang explained that the proprietary formulation was five years in development and uses a unique combination of nutrients and phytochemicals to boost intracellular metabolism, membrane permeability and blood microcirculation to create its landmark effect. The ability of the formulation to function on a cellular level has been scientifically demonstrated by independent testing.

TheraLife^® said that its proprietary formulation is now available for sale on a limited basis by calling the company's Customer Care Center at 1- 877-917-1989 or through its website at www.TheraLife.com.

The mission of TheraLife^® is to improve the quality of life by offering superior healthcare products and breakthrough technologies that enable faster and more efficient delivery of ethical drugs, biopharmaceuticals and therapeutic agents with fewer side effects. The company is currently in the process of studying the application of its technologies to the treatment of cancer, cardiovascular, metabolic, autoimmune and infectious diseases.

Note to Editors: Clinical trial results are available upon request. Free product samples are also available for you to try for the relief of computer vision syndrome (CVS).
Please call Emma Guyaz at 650-917-1989.

Forward-Looking Statements:

Statements in this announcement about future results are preliminary and based on partial information and assumptions. These statements and oral statements made from time to time by TheraLife^® representatives concerning the same subject matter may contain "forward-looking statements". Many factors may cause actual results to differ from the forward-looking statements, including inaccurate assumptions, results from clinical trials and other scientific studies, market trends and conditions, and a broad range of other business risks and uncertainties. No forward-looking statement is a guarantee of future results or events, and one should avoid paying undue reliance on such statements.

COMPANY CONTACT:
Lily C. Yang, PhD
CEO & President
TheraLife^®, Inc.
Tel: 650-917-1989
E-mail: lcyang@theralife.com

AGENCY CONTACT:
Richard Wood
Managing Partner
Sand Hill Partners
Tel: 650-631-0123
E-mail: partners@sandhillroad.com