Asep Inc. Receives Grant from NanoMedicines Innovation Network (NMIN), Funded by the Government of Canada

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Jun 23, 2023, 19:00 ET

The New Grant Will Support Important Pre-clinical Studies

VANCOUVER, BC, June 23, 2023 /PRNewswire/ - Asep Medical Holdings Inc. ("Asep Inc." or the "Company") (CSE: ASEP) (OTCQB: SEPSF) (FSE: JJ8) is pleased to announce, along with their academic partners at the University of British Columbia (UBC), that they have been awarded a grant from the NanoMedicines Innovation Network (NMIN) to investigate further and identify an optimal nanoparticle-peptide solution with the specific goal of treating chronic sinus infections caused by biofilms. The Government of Canada funds NMIN through the Networks of Centres of Excellence (NCE) Program. To date, the Company and its subsidiaries have received over USD $20 million in non-dilutive grant funding from organizations such as the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, Genome Canada and UBC. The Company, through its pre-clinical partner, iFyber LLC, has also received funding from the US Army for its novel antibiofilm peptide technology.

The funds will be used to establish pre-clinical toxicology parameters of the peptide technology and determine the pharmacokinetic and pharmacodynamic properties of the peptide when delivered intranasally to guide dosing regimens. This information will contribute to a pre-IND (Investigational New Drug) meeting with the FDA and move Asep Inc. another step closer to formal clinical trials in humans.

The CAD $200,000 grant provides financial support for an important scientific collaboration between Asep Inc.'s subsidiary (ABT Innovations), the Hancock Lab at the University of British Columbia (UBC) and the NMIN PharmaCore (a subsidiary of NMIN providing pharmacology, toxicology and scale-up manufacturing expertise at UBC).

The grant title is "Pre-clinical evaluation of nanoparticle formulations for the in vivo delivery of anti-biofilm and anti-inflammatory synthetic host defence peptides." As the title suggests, the project will aim to identify an optimal nanoparticle-formulated peptide solution that provides a suitable drug delivery vehicle for the Company's desired clinical indication of chronic sinus infections.

Founder, Chairman and CEO Dr. Robert E. W. Hancock commented, "Funding of this nature further supports the viability of our anti-biofilm peptides by the scientific community and the Federal Government of Canada. In addition, it allows us a critical lab time to refine the technology with a goal to help millions of people worldwide that suffer from chronic sinus infections."

ABOUT ASEP MEDICAL HOLDINGS INC.
Asep Medical Holdings Inc. (asepmedical.com) is dedicated to addressing the global issue of antibiotic failure by developing novel solutions for significant unmet medical needs in human medicine. The Company is a consolidation of three existing private companies, all with technology in advanced development — Sepset Biosciences Inc. (proprietary diagnostic tools to enable the early and timely identification of sepsis), ABT Innovations Inc. (broad-spectrum therapeutic agents to address multi-drug resistant biofilm infections), and SafeCoat Medical Inc. (an antibacterial peptide medical device coating technology).

Sepset Biosciences Inc. (sepset.ca) is in the final stages of preparation for clinical studies and commercialization of an in vitro diagnostic test that involves a patient gene expression signature that helps assess the development of severe sepsis, one of the significant diseases leading to antibiotic failure since antibiotics are the primary initial treatment for sepsis. Sepsis was responsible for nearly 20% of all deaths on the planet in 2017 and essentially all deaths due to COVID-19 and other pandemics. The Sepset^ER test is a blood-based gene expression assay that is straightforward to implement, and results are obtained in about an hour after taking a blood sample in the emergency room or intensive care unit. This proprietary diagnostic technology differs from current diagnostic tests, enabling the risk assessment for progression to severe sepsis within ~60 minutes of initiating the test. Bacterial culture, the gold standard, provides results after ~15 hours but can be as long as three days. Asep Inc. believes its test will enable critical early decisions to be made by physicians regarding appropriate therapies and thus reduce overall morbidity and mortality due to sepsis.

ABT Innovations Inc.'s (abtinnovations.ca) peptide technology covers a broad range of therapeutic applications, including bacterial biofilm infections (dental, wound, sinusitis, skin, medical device infections, chronic infections, lung, bladder, ear-nose and throat, orthopaedic, etc.), anti-inflammatories, anti-infective immune-modulators and vaccine adjuvants. The company is in the pre-clinical development phase for the first three indications with promising data.

SafeCoat Medical Inc.'s (safecoatmedical.com) technology encompasses self-assembling polymers combined with conjugated antimicrobial peptides, which can be applied to various surfaces as antimicrobial and anti-fouling coatings. In particular, the invention relates to coatings that may be applied to multiple medical devices and implants, and feasibility has been demonstrated in animal models. The company's expertise also encompasses the methods for manufacturing and applying these anti-bacterial coatings.

ABOUT NANOMEDICINES INNOVATION NETWORK
The NanoMedicines Innovation Network (NMIN) (nanomedicines.ca) is advancing "smart" medicines to cure disease by delivering small molecule drugs, more specifically to disease sites and enabling the clinical use of gene therapies. NMIN brings investigators from universities across Canada—a multidisciplinary collective of physicists, engineers, chemists, biochemists, cell biologists, disease specialists, and clinicians—together with companies and not-for-profit research and granting institutions to expand and improve Canada's position as a world leader in nanomedicines R&D. NMIN invests in projects aimed at developing new therapeutics and diagnostics. Particular efforts are made to conduct projects partnered with industry to ensure market impact. The Government of Canada funds NMIN through the Networks of Centres of Excellence (NCE) Program.

FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS —
This news release contains certain "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of such statements under applicable securities law. Forward-looking statements are frequently characterized by words such as "anticipates," "plan," "continue," "expect," "project," "intend," "believe," "anticipate," "estimate," "may," "will," "potential," "proposed," "positioned" and other similar words, or statements that certain events or conditions "may" or "will" occur. These statements include but are not limited to the successful clinical testing of our Sepsis in vitro diagnostic test and its intended filing for regulatory market authorization; the Company not receiving regulatory market authorization as planned or at all; the undertaking of pre-clinical studies on our lead therapeutic, with the expectation that this will lead to fast-track clinical trials; the timeframe for identification of sepsis with the company's products; the potential opportunities for the generation of revenue; the therapeutic benefits of the company's products; and other statements regarding the company's proposed business plans. Various assumptions were used in drawing conclusions or making the predictions contained in the forward-looking statements throughout this news release. Forward-looking statements are based on the opinions and estimates of management at the date the statements are made and are subject to a variety of risks including the risk that the company's products may not perform as expected; that the company may not receive the requisite regulatory market authorization or results of testing; the Company's testing of the products may not be successful and market authorization may not be obtained in the estimated timelines or at all; the company may not be able to generate revenue from its products as expected or at all; the market for the company's products may not be as described in this news release; and various other risk factors identified in the Asep Medical Inc.'s prospectus dated November 9, 2021, and in the company's management discussion and analysis, available for review under the Company's profile at www.sedar.com and uncertainties and other factors that could cause actual events or results to differ materially from those projected in the forward-looking statements. Asep Medical Inc. is under no obligation and expressly disclaims any intention or obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, except as expressly required by applicable law.

SOURCE ASEP Medical Holdings Inc.