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Thursday, December 24, 2009

ImmuneRegen BioSciences® Summarizes Previous 9 Months of Advances as Homspera® Development Continues

SCOTTSDALE, AZ--(Marketwire - December 24, 2009) - ImmuneRegen BioSciences Inc.®, a wholly owned subsidiary of IR Biosciences Holdings Inc. (OTCBB: IRBS), ends 2009 with a significantly deeper understanding of the mechanisms underlying the demonstrated immunostimulatory activity of its development candidate Homspera®, and additional partners and advisory members who strengthen the Company's efforts to bring Homspera into human testing.

Relationships forged over the past 3 calendar quarters have included those with investigators at the University of Rochester and the University of Pittsburgh, and the Company has entered into a joint licensing agreement with the latter in the area of cancer vaccine adjuvants. Both investigators have subsequently joined the Company's Advisory Board and continue to support the Company's research and grant submission activities.

With the support of those investigators as well as others, multiple grant submissions have been made to NIH and BARDA (Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority) , as well as through the Armed Forces Institute of Pathology and Walter Reed Army Medical Center through their Combat Wound Initiative Program. NIH-funded studies in areas related to Idiopathic Pulmonary Fibrosis, where the Company has filed its first IND (Investigational New Drug application) with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), are being pursued at the University of Rochester. Also, additional studies in Avian Influenza (H5N1) as well as the currently pandemic Swine-originated Influenza A virus (H1N1) have shown Homspera's efficacy in animal models in reducing the impact of infection with these potentially debilitating viruses.

Successful research studies have garnered the interest of potential partners, among them the world-renowned peptide manufacturer Bachem Inc., at which Homspera is being manufactured in compliance with current Good Manufacturing Practice (cGMP) standards. This material will be used in the necessary safety studies that will be submitted to FDA to support advancement of Homspera into initial human testing, which is planned to begin in late 2010.

"We are quite pleased with the company's progress over the past 12 months. Our team has worked extremely diligently to advance our work with Homspera with the hope this translates to great value for our shareholders," said ImmuneRegen CEO Michael Wilhelm.

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About ImmuneRegen BioSciences, Inc.

ImmuneRegen BioSciences, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of IR BioSciences Holdings, Inc., (OTC BB:IRBS.OB - News) is a development-stage biotechnology company focused on the research, development and licensing of Homspera™ and its derivatives. Homspera is an adult stem cell active compound that in study results has been shown to regenerate and strengthen the immune system and enhance wound healing. Viprovex®, a derivative of Homspera, is being developed for potential use against infectious diseases as a stand-alone or combination therapy and as a vaccine adjuvant. To advance its mission, the Scottsdale, Arizona based company has forged numerous study partnerships with industry and academic leaders, including Celgene Cellular Therapeutics, HemoGenix, Lovelace Respiratory Research Institute and Virion Systems. For more information, please visit www.immuneregen.com.

Statements about ImmuneRegen's future expectations, including statements about the potential use and scientific results for ImmuneRegen's drug candidates, science and technology, and all other statements in this press release other than historical facts, are "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, and as that term is defined in the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. ImmuneRegen intends that such forward-looking statements be subject to the safe harbors created thereby. These future events may not occur as and when expected, if at all, and, together with ImmuneRegen's business, are subject to various risks and uncertainties. ImmuneRegen's actual results could differ materially from expected results as a result of a number of factors, including the uncertainties inherent in research and development collaborations, pre-clinical and clinical trials and product development programs (including, but not limited to the fact that future results or research and development efforts may prove less encouraging than current results or cause side effects not observed in current pre-clinical trials), the evaluation of potential opportunities, the level of corporate expenditures and monies available for further studies, capital market conditions, and others set forth in ImmuneRegen's periodic report on Form 10-Q for the three months ended June 30, 2008 and on Form 10-KSB for the year ended December 31, 2008 as filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission. There are no guarantees that any of ImmuneRegen's proposed products will prove to be commercially successful. ImmuneRegen undertakes no duty to update forward-looking statements.

Contact:
Michael K. Wilhelm OR John N. Fermanis
ImmuneRegen BioSciences Inc.
Phone: 480-922-3926
E-mail: mwilhelm@immuneregen.com
E-mail: jfermanis@immuneregen.com

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