Can-Fite to Collaborate with Two Academic Institutes in the Development of CF102

Can-Fite BioPharma has announced that cooperation agreements were signed with two worldwide leading research laboratories to promote the Company's second drug pipeline, CF102.

This cooperation will facilitate joint research to investigate the effect of CF102 on hepatitis C virus (HCV) replication in hepatocytes and elucidate the molecular mechanisms underlying the antiviral activity of CF102.

One agreement was signed with Prof. Turkaspa, a world renowned expert in the research and treatment of liver diseases from the Rabin Medical Center in Israel; the second agreement was signed with Prof. Khalili, head of the Center for Neurovirology and Cancer Biology at Philadelphia Temple University and editor of scientific magazines in these fields.

Prof. Pnina Fishman, CEO of Can-Fite, said that "these cooperation agreements will substantially increase our current understanding of the antiviral activity of CF102. Studying the mechanism of drug activity is of utmost importance in the clinical development. The two laboratories with which agreements were signed have a world-class reputation in their fields and we are pleased with these fruitful collaborations."

Can-Fite's second pipeline drug, CF102, is currently being developed for the treatment of liver diseases. The Company previously reported that preclinical studies have suggested that the drug is active against viral and autoimmune liver inflammation.

CF102 was also found to trigger programmed cell death (apoptosis) of liver cancer cells. The Company recently announced the completion of the preclinical development program of CF102; an IND application to conduct a phase I clinical trial was subsequently submitted to the FDA. It is projected that this trial will be initiated in the US in January 2008.