8-K

                                  UNITED STATES
                       SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION
                             Washington, D.C. 20549

                                    FORM 8-K


                                 CURRENT REPORT

                     Pursuant to Section 13 or 15(d) of the
                         Securities Exchange Act of 1934

                        Date of Report (Date of earliest
                            event reported) March 21,
                             2005 ( March 21, 2005)

                           HEMISPHERX BIOPHARMA, INC.
             (Exact name of registrant as specified in its charter)

                           Delaware 0-27072 52-0845822
               (state or other juris- (Commission (I.R.S. Employer
           diction of incorporation) File Number) (Identification No.)

              1617 JFK Boulevard, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 19103
               (Address of principal executive offices) (Zip Code)

       Registrant's telephone number, including area code: (215) 988-0080

          ---------------------------------------------------------------
          (Former name or former address, if changed since last report)


Check  the  appropriate  box  below  if the  Form  8-K  filing  is  intended  to
simultaneously  satisfy the filing obligation of the registrant under any of the
following provisions (see General Instruction A.2. below):

[ ] Written communications pursuant to Rule 425 under the Securities Act (17 CFR
230.425)

[ ] Soliciting  material  pursuant to Rule 14a-12 under the Exchange Act (17 CFR
240.14a-12) [ ] Pre-commencement  communications pursuant to Rule 14d-2(b) under
the Exchange Act (17 CFR 240.14d-2(b))

[ ] Pre-commencement communications pursuant to Rule 13e-4(c) under the Exchange
Act (17 CFR 240.13e-4(c))








Section 5 - Corporate Governance and Management
- -----------------------------------------------

Item 5.02 Departure of Directors or Principal  Officers;  Election of Directors;
Appointment of Principal Officers.

On March 21,  2005,  our Board of  Directors  appointed  Steven D. Spence to our
Board of Directors.  Mr. Spence is an independent  director and he will serve on
the Audit and Executive committees of our Board of Directors.

The press  release  announcing  the  appointment  of Mr.  Spence to our Board of
Directors is furnished as Exhibit 99 and incorporated by reference.

Item 9.01 Financial Statements and Exhibits
- -------------------------------------------

(c)  Exhibits.

99   Press Release dated March 21, 2005


                                   SIGNATURES


     Pursuant to the  requirements  of the Securities  Exchange Act of 1934, the
registrant  has duly  caused  this  report  to be  signed  on its  behalf by the
undersigned hereunto duly authorized.


                                                 HEMISPHERX BIOPHARMA, INC.


March 21, 2005                              By: /s/ William A. Carter
                                                --------------------------
                                                William A. Carter M.D.,
                                                Chief Executive Officer

EX-99

                                                                    Exhibit 99

  Hemispherx Biopharma Inc. Appoints Steven D. Spence to the Board of Directors



Former  Managing  Director of Merrill  Lynch  appointed to  Executive  and Audit
- --------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Committees
- -----------

Philadelphia,  PA, March 21,  2005-Hemispherx  Biopharma  Inc.  (AMEX:  HEB) has
- ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
appointed Steven D. Spence to its Board of Directors,  bringing the total number
of board  members to six and the number of  independent  directors to four.  Mr.
Spence, a former Managing Director of Merrill Lynch,  brings to the board twenty
years of experience in the financial services industry.

Mr. Spence spent 16 years at Merrill Lynch, the last six as a Managing Director.
During his tenure at Merrill  Lynch,  he held  several  high-ranking  management
positions  including Chief Operating Officer for the Security Services Division,
Global Head of the Broker Dealer Security Services Division,  and Global Head of
Financial Futures and Options.

At Merrill  Lynch,  Mr.  Spence's  accomplishments  included  the  creation of a
consolidated  clearing  and  financing  division,  which  resulted in  increased
revenues of over 50% in its first year of operation. He also was instrumental in
the restructuring of Merrill Lynch's futures and options business.  In addition,
Mr. Spence was in charge of the Asian futures and options business,  which under
his direction became an integral part Merrill Lynch's global business.

"We are honored to have Steven join our board of  directors.  As his  experience
indicates,  he brings a wealth of talent and  knowledge to  Hemispherx.  At this
crucial  juncture in the  company's  history it will be a great  benefit to have
access to Steven's  expertise in  communicating  and working with the  financial
community  as  an  independent  director,"  said  Dr.  William  Carter,  CEO  of
Hemispherx Biopharma.

Mr. Spence is currently the managing partner of Valued  Ventures,  a consultancy
that he  founded  in 2003 to  foster  the  development  of micro  and  small cap
companies. He is a graduate of Columbia College, Columbia University in New York
City.

About Hemispherx
- ----------------
Hemispherx  Biopharma,  based in Philadelphia,  is a  biopharmaceutical  company
engaged in the  manufacture and clinical  development of new drug entities.  Its
flagship products include Alferon N(R) and the experimental  antiviral products,
Ampligen(R)  and  Oragens(TM).  These  novel  Alferon-N  proteins,  commercially
available for a category of STD infection,  and  experimental  nucleic acids are
being  developed for globally  important  chronic  diseases and disorders of the
immune system  including HPV, HIV, CFS and Hepatitis.  Its four major technology
platforms include large-and  small-agent  components for potential  treatment of
various  chronic  viral  infections,   and  are  being  developed  with  various
corporate,  governmental and academic  collaborators  worldwide.  Hemispherx has
more than 200 patents comprising its core intellectual  property estate, a fully
commercialized product (Alferon N(R)) and GMP certified manufacturing facilities
for  its   novel   pharma   products.   For  more   information   please   visit
www.hemispherx.net



Information  contained in this news release other than  historical  information,
should be considered  forward-looking and is subject to various risk factors and
uncertainties. For instance, the strategies and operations of Hemispherx involve
risk of competition,  changing market conditions, change in laws and regulations
affecting these industries and numerous other factors  discussed in this release
and in the Company's  filings with the Securities and Exchange  Commission.  Any
specifically referenced investigational drugs and associated technologies of the
company (including  Ampligen and Oragens) are experimental in nature and as such
are not designated safe and effective by a regulatory  authority for general use
and are legally  available  only  through  clinical  trials with the  referenced
disorders. The forward-looking statements represent the Company's judgment as of
the  date of this  release.  The  Company  disclaims,  however,  any  intent  or
obligation to update these  forward-looking  statements.  Only Clinical  Studies
under  well-controlled  conditions  can  establish  efficacy  and  safety of any
product.  Clinical  trials  for  other  potential  indications  of the  approved
biologic  Alferon  N do not imply  that the  product  will ever be  specifically
approved commercially for these other treatment indications including avian flu.


Contact information:

Company Contact:
Dianne Will
IR@Hemispherx.com
(215) 988-0080

Investor Contact:
Erik Lux/ Adam Holdwsorth/John Nesbett
Investor Relations Group
(212) 825-3210

Media Contact:
Stephanie Schroeder
Investor Relations Group
(212) 825-3210