DEFENCE THERAPEUTICS RETAINS THE HUS COMPREHENSIVE CANCER CENTER TO OPTIMIZE ITS ACCUM-T-DM1 ADC THERAPEUTIC

DGAP-News: Defence Therapeutics Inc. / Key word(s): Miscellaneous
07.06.2021 / 08:30
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DEFENCE THERAPEUTICS RETAINS THE HUS COMPREHENSIVE CANCER CENTER TO OPTIMIZE ITS ACCUM-T-DM1 ADC THERAPEUTIC

Vancouver, BC, Canada, June 7^th, 2021 - Defence Therapeutics Inc. ("Defence" or the "Company"), is pleased to announce, after very encouraging preliminary in vivo results, the establishment of a collaboration with the HUS Comprehensive Cancer Center at Helsinki, Finland for the optimization of Defence's Accum-T-DM1 ADC Therapeutic. This Cancer Center is Finland's largest and most versatile cancer treatment center, their expertise is internationally highly valued and their treatment results are world-class.

The parties entered into a collaboration for the preclinical selection of an optimized Accum-T-DM1 conjugate based on in vitro assessments. These studies will not only highlight the additive effect mediated by Defence's, Accum technology, it will also guide the selection of optimal Accum-T-DM1 for further in vivo testing on breast and gastric cancer animal models.

T-DM1 (Ado-trastuzumab, Kadcyla(R)) approved by the FDA in 2013 to treat women with metastatic HER2-positive breast cancer surpassed $1 billion in annual sales in 2019 to become the first ADC to hit blockbuster status. The Kadcyla(R) ADC antibody portion of this drug serves as a homing device to the chemotherapeutic drug emtansine. Clinical and pre-clinical studies have shown that intracellular drug delivery to breast cancer cells may not be optimal causing treatment resistance and recurrence.

Combining the Accum technology to the Kadcyla(R) ADC is expected to amplify the therapeutic index of the drug while potentially minimizing side effects observed in patients undergoing the therapy. Defence's Accum platform has been developed and tested in vitro to enhance the intracellular drug delivery on multiple ADCs that are FDA approved or under development.

"We have a long-standing experience in the field of ADC therapeutics, and we believe that the HUS Comprehensive Cancer Center represents an ideal collaborator for the ongoing development of the optimized Accum-T-DM1 conjugate," said Sebastien Plouffe, Chief Executive Officer of Defence Therapeutics. "We look forward to the continued advancement of our Accum-modified pipeline," he added.

Currently, the T-DM1 regiment consists of a 3-week treatment cycle for up to 14 cycles. By linking Defence's Accum to T-DM1, the regiment will most likely be shorter due to the enhanced therapeutic effect of the ADC.

The Global cancer immunotherapy market is worth over $100 billion annually.

About Defence:
Defence Therapeutics is a publicly-traded biotechnology company working on engineering the next generation vaccines and ADC products using its proprietary platform. The core of Defence Therapeutics platform is the ACCUM^TM technology, which enables precision delivery of vaccine antigens or ADCs in their intact form to target cells by inducing their entrapment escape. As a result, increased efficacy and potency can be reached against catastrophic illness such as cancer and infectious diseases.

For further information:
Sebastien Plouffe, President, CEO and Director
P: (514) 947-2272
Splouffe@defencetherapeutics.com
www.defencetherapeutics.com

Cautionary Statement Regarding "Forward-Looking" Information

This release includes certain statements that may be deemed "forward-looking statements". All statements in this release, other than statements of historical facts, that address events or developments that the Company expects to occur, are forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements are statements that are not historical facts and are generally, but not always, identified by the words "expects", "plans", "anticipates", "believes", "intends", "estimates", "projects", "potential" and similar expressions, or that events or conditions "will", "would", "may", "could" or "should" occur. Although the Company believes the expectations expressed in such forward-looking statements are based on reasonable assumptions, such statements are not guarantees of future performance and actual results may differ materially from those in the forward-looking statements. Factors that could cause the actual results to differ materially from those in forward-looking statements include regulatory actions, market prices, and continued availability of capital and financing, and general economic, market or business conditions. Investors are cautioned that any such statements are not guarantees of future performance and actual results or developments may differ materially from those projected in the forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements are based on the beliefs, estimates and opinions of the Company's management on the date the statements are made. Except as required by applicable securities laws, the Company undertakes no obligation to update these forward-looking statements in the event that management's beliefs, estimates or opinions, or other factors, should change.

Neither the CSE nor its market regulator, as that term is defined in the policies of the CSE, accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.

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