VANCOUVER, BC—(Marketwired – September 20, 2016) – BIOASIS TECHNOLOGIES INC. (OTCQB: BIOAF) (TSX VENTURE: BTI) (“biOasis”), a pioneering biopharmaceutical company focused on overcoming the limitations of therapeutic drug delivery across the blood–brain barrier, today announced it has entered into a License Agreement (the “Agreement”) with Vaccinex Inc. (“Vaccinex”). Under the terms of the Agreement, Vaccinex will have the right to commercialize its anti–semaphorin 4D (“anti–SEMA4D”) antibody technology in combination with the biOasis Transcend technology. The Vaccinex anti–SEMA4D technology targets neurodegenerative diseases such as Huntington's disease and multiple sclerosis, the two initial neurology disease indications being investigated by Vaccinex. Currently the global market for Huntington's disease, as reported by GlobalData, was $252.6M in 2014 with a projected growth to over $2.6B in 2024 (CAGR of 25.6%)1. For multiple sclerosis, GlobalData reports, that the global market was $17.2B in 2014 and projected to grow to $20B by 2024 (CAGR: 1.5%)2. Under the terms of the Agreement, Vaccinex has been provided rights to the Transcend technology and its intellectual (patent) property, and upon achievement of specific events, biOasis could receive up to $US 20 million in the form of upfront and milestone payments, and annual single–digit royalty payments upon commercialization.
Rob Hutchison, biOasis CEO, stated, “Facilitating the delivery of monoclonal antibodies across the blood–brain barrier to reach their therapeutic targets in the brain is the core focus of biOasis. The combination of the Transcend technology and Vaccinex's unique anti–SEMA4D antibody has the potential to facilitate antibody delivery to the brain in patients suffering from neurological disorders such as Huntington's disease and multiple sclerosis. We are looking forward to working with Vaccinex over the months and years to come.”
Dr. Maurice Zauderer, Vaccinex CEO commented, “We are very pleased to be entering into this agreement and to collaborate with biOasis. Their promising Transcend technology has unique potential to increase the efficiency of antibody delivery to multiple regions of the brain.”
References – GlobalData
1. https://healthcare.globaldata.com/media–center/press–releases/pharmaceuticals/diseasemodifying–drugs–will–propel–huntingtons–disease–market–to–26–billion–by–2024–says–globaldata
2. http://store.globaldata.com/market–reports/pharmaceuticals–and–healthcare/pharmapoint–multiple–sclerosis–global–drug–forecast–and–market–analysis–to–2024
About Transcend
Transcend is biOasis' proprietary platform for the delivery of therapeutics across the blood–brain barrier to address unmet medical needs in the treatment of metastatic brain cancers as well as neurodegenerative and metabolic diseases. The delivery of therapeutics across the blood–brain barrier represents the single greatest challenge in treating neurological disorders. The ability to effectively and safely transverse the blood–brain barrier with the Transcend peptide carrier, MTfp, offers the opportunity for biOasis to deliver therapeutics into the brain at doses sufficient to have a therapeutic effect.
About biOasis
biOasis Technologies Inc. is a biopharmaceutical company headquartered in the Vancouver, Canada area, focused on overcoming the limitations of therapeutic drug delivery across the blood–brain barrier. The company is developing and commercializing a proprietary brain delivery technology to address unmet medical needs in the treatment of central nervous system disorders. biOasis trades on the OTCQB under the symbol “BIOAF” and on the TSX Venture Exchange under the symbol “BTI”. For more information about the company please visit www.bioasis.ca.
Forward Looking Statements
Certain statements in this press release contain forward–looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 or forward–looking information under applicable Canadian securities legislation that may not be based on historical fact, including without limitation statements containing the words “believe”, “may”, “plan”, “will”, “estimate”, “continue”, “anticipate”, “intend”, “expect” and similar expressions. Such forward–looking statements or information involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that may cause our actual results, events or developments, or industry results, to be materially different from any future results, events or developments express or implied by such forward–looking statements or information. Such factors include, among others, our stage of development, lack of any product revenues, additional capital requirements, risk associated with the completion of clinical trials and obtaining regulatory approval to market our products, the ability to protect our intellectual property, dependence on collaborative partners and the prospects for negotiating additional corporate collaborations or licensing arrangements and their timing. Specifically, certain risks and uncertainties that could cause such actual events or results expressed or implied by such forward–looking statements and information to differ materially from any future events or results expressed or implied by such statements and information include, but are not limited to, the risks and uncertainties that: products that we develop may not succeed in preclinical or clinical trials, or future products in our targeted corporate objectives; our future operating results are uncertain and likely to fluctuate; we may not be able to raise additional capital; we may not be successful in establishing additional corporate collaborations or licensing arrangements; we may not be able to establish marketing and the costs of launching our products may be greater than anticipated; we have no experience in commercial manufacturing; we may face unknown risks related to intellectual property matters; we face increased competition from pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies; and other factors as described in detail in our filings with the Canadian securities regulatory authorities at www.sedar.com. Given these risks and uncertainties, you are cautioned not to place undue reliance on such forward–looking statements and information, which are qualified in their entirety by this cautionary statement. All forward–looking statements and information made herein are based on our current expectations and we undertake no obligation to revise or update such forward– looking statements and information to reflect subsequent events or circumstances, except as required by law.
On Behalf of the Board of Directors
Rob Hutchison, Chairman & CEO
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