<PAGE> 1
Exhibit 99.1
IMMUNE RESPONSE SHAREHOLDERS APPROVE MERGER INTO OPTICON MEDICAL
DUBLIN, Ohio, July 28 /PRNewswire/ -- Immune Response, Inc. (OTC
Bulletin Board: IMUN) announced today that at a meeting on July 27, its
shareholders approved the merger of Immune with and into its wholly-owned
subsidiary, Opticon Medical, Inc., a Delaware corporation. The merger became
effective upon the filing of certificates of merger with the Secretaries of
State of Colorado and Delaware on July 27. The common stock of the Company will
now trade on the OTC Bulletin Board under the symbol "OPMI." All outstanding
shares of Immune common stock have been automatically converted into the same
number of shares of Opticon common stock.
Following the effectiveness of the merger, shareholders of Opticon
elected William J. Post, Ronald E. Eibensteiner, David J. Lundquist, Fouad A.
Salama, M. D. and Walter L. Sembrowich, Ph.D. as directors of Opticon, and
approved the Company's 2000 Stock Incentive Plan.
Opticon's President, William Post, stated, "We are pleased that
ourshareholders overwhelmingly approved the merger. The merger allows us to
consolidate our organization into a single Delaware corporation, resulting in
certain operating and cost efficiencies, clarifying our corporate identity, and
benefiting both our posture in the medical device industry and our investors. We
are also pleased that with the adoption of the Stock Incentive Plan, we will
have available equity incentives to attract and retain key members of our
management and technical teams."
Immune Response, Inc., acquired Opticon Medical in February of this
year. Opticon is a development stage medical device company focused on the
development and marketing of a series of innovative and cost-effective products
for use in urology and continence care.
Safe Harbor Statement Under the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995
Statements in this news release that relate to other than strictly
historical facts, such as statements about the Company's plans and strategies,
expectations for future financial performance, new and existing products and
technologies, and markets for the Company's products, are forward looking
statements. The words "believe," "expect," "anticipate," "estimate," "project,"
and similar expressions identify forward-looking statements that speak only as
of the date hereof. Investors are cautioned that such statements involve risks
and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from
historical or anticipated results due to many factors including, but not limited
to, the Company's lack of revenues or cash flow from operations, continuing
losses and accumulated deficit, future capital needs, uncertainty of capital
funding, product development risks, uncertainty of regulatory approval and
market acceptance, dependence on a single product, dependence on others for
manufacturing, lack of marketing and sales support, competition, and other risks
detailed in the Company's most recent Annual Report on Form 10-KSB and other
Securities and Exchange Commission filings. The Company undertakes no obligation
to publicly update or revise any forward-looking statements.
