December 7, 2011

VG Energy Highlighted in Branson's "Carbon War Room" Jet Fuel Initiative

New website aimed at reducing the use of traditional jet fuels by as much as fifty percent

SAN MARINO, Calif., Dec 07, 2011 (BUSINESS WIRE) -- Viral Genetics' VRAL +20.00% majority owned subsidiary, VG Energy, has been highlighted in Sir Richard Branson's Carbon War Room effort as one of the approved technologies in the accelerating evolution toward renewable sources for the bio-fuels sector. VG Energy's algae "lipid trigger" technology tricks algae into storing energy as fat, rather than carbohydrates. In ongoing studies, VG Energy's "lipid trigger" technology has been shown to increase the lipid levels in plant, yeast and algal biofuel by a significant percentage.

Business titan Sir Richard Branson, philanthropist extraordinaire, Chairman of Virgin Air, and an early investor in the green energy sector, has taken a lead role in the global search for biofuels for use in the airline industry. Appearing on MSNBC earlier this week, Mr. Branson laid out the rationale for investment in the green energy sector, and his long term commitment to the effort through the creation of the Carbon War Room. The Carbon War Room is a global, independent non-profit that brings together complementary NGO's, entrepreneurs, corporate entrepreneurs, financiers, and the climate change community to focus on gigaton-scale, market-based solutions to climate change.

The Carbon War Room teamed with Elsevier as, "we know that a lot of the solutions to the energy problems have to come from new technologies," said Jan Paul Grolle, of Elsevier. Interviews with hundreds of people working in the alternative energy sector "indicated they lack reliable information." The request was to make sure that any information is organized by experts, reviewed and made available. "And, we are not only talking about jet fuel but also other biofuel sectors," Grolle said.

Monica Ord, VG Energy's SVP of Corporate Development stated, "Carbon War Room and Suzanne Hunt have created a valuable platform which allows us to rapidly share VG Energy's technology on a much broader scale. Our goal is to be a key additive in making biofuel a more viable cost effective option, whether from algae, yeast or plant sources." Ord added, "This site will give us the opportunity to get our technology in front of all the relevant producers, financiers, and research arms in biofuel worldwide. I applaud Suzanne and Carbon War Room on their efforts and vision and we are honored they have chosen VG Energy to be involved."

According to Carbon War Room, WWW.RENEWABLEJETFUELS.ORG is a new advanced database which contains key information on companies working across the biofuel value chain, their products and their technologies. The aim is to accelerate the use of sustainable biofuel in aviation by making it clear which companies have viable technologies and the way these technologies can be applied.

The online resource contains information about the sector and facilitates contact between producers of biofuels and the aviation industry as "the airline industry generates about 2-3% of carbon emissions," said Suzanne Hunt of the Huntgreen Environmental Agency, based in Washington, D.C. "This might not sound like much but it is accelerating very fast," Hunt said. "We started talking to buyers and producers of aviation fuel and discovered that the technology is ready and demand outstrips supply, but that there was not much information available that would connect buyers and producers." Carbon War Room's groundbreaking site provides information to finance providers, fuel purchasers, supply chain managers and technology developers involved in technology and production relating to renewable jet fuel.

Algal and plant based bio-fuel has emerged as one of the most promising viable options in this and other drop in fuel replacement sectors. VG Energy's technology looks poised to accelerate the acceptance of this option as it shows promise in changing the economics of algal biofuels.

"The biggest problem at the moment is the high price of renewable energy," Hunt said, "but if demand increases, the price can come down. Producers also lack access to finance, and we are facilitating contact between investors and producers."

About Viral Genetics, Inc.

San Marino, California-based Viral Genetics discovers drug therapies from two platform technologies based on over 60 patents: Metabolic Disruption (MDT) and Targeted Peptides (TPT). Founded in 1994, the biotech company is researching treatments for HIV/AIDS, Lyme Disease, Strep, Staph and drug resistant cancer. A majority-owned subsidiary, VG Energy ( http://www.vgenergy.net ), is dedicated to developing biofuel and agricultural applications for the MDT platform. For more information, visit http://www.viralgenetics.com .

About Carbon War Room

The Carbon War Room harnesses the power of entrepreneurs to unlock gigaton-scale, market-driven solutions to climate change. Over 50% of the climate change challenge can be addressed today -- and profitably -- under existing policy and technology conditions. We seek to facilitate a better flow of capital to entrepreneurial solutions that make economic sense right now.

About Elsevier

Elsevier is a world-leading provider of scientific, technical and medical information products and services. The company works in partnership with the global science and health communities to publish more than 2,000 journals, including The Lancet and Cell, and close to 20,000 book titles, including major reference works from Mosby and Saunders. Elsevier's online solutions include SciVerse ScienceDirect, SciVerse Scopus, Reaxys, MD Consult and Nursing Consult, which enhance the productivity of science and health professionals, and the SciVal suite and MEDai's Pinpoint Review, which help research and health care institutions deliver better outcomes more cost-effectively.

A global business headquartered in Amsterdam, Elsevier employs 7,000 people worldwide. The company is part of Reed Elsevier Group PLC, a world-leading publisher and information provider, which is jointly owned by Reed Elsevier PLC and Reed Elsevier NV. The ticker symbols are REN (Euronext Amsterdam), REL (London Stock Exchange), RUK and ENL (New York Stock Exchange).

SAFE HARBOR FOR FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS:

This news release contains forward-looking statements that involve risks and uncertainties associated with financial projections, budgets, milestone timelines, clinical development, regulatory approvals, and other risks described by Viral Genetics, Inc. from time to time in its periodic reports, including statements about its VG Energy, Inc. subsidiary. None of Viral Genetics' drug compounds are approved by the US Food and Drug Administration or by any comparable regulatory agencies elsewhere in the world, nor are any non-pharmaceutical products of VG Energy, Inc. commercialized. While Viral Genetics believes that the forward-looking statements and underlying assumptions reasonable, any of the assumptions could be inaccurate, including, but not limited to, the ability of Viral Genetics to establish the efficacy of any of its drug therapies in the treatment of any disease or health condition, the development of studies and strategies leading to commercialization of those drug compounds in the United States, the obtaining of funding required to carry out the development plan, the completion of studies and tests on time or at all, the successful outcome of such studies or tests, or the successful commercialization of VG Energy, Inc.'s non-pharmaceutical products. Therefore, there can be no assurance that the forward-looking statements included in this release will prove to be accurate. In light of the significant uncertainties inherent in the forward-looking statements included herein, the forward-looking statements should not be regarded as a representation by Viral Genetics or any other person that the objectives and plans of Viral Genetics will be achieved.

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