enGene named Company of the Year by BIOTECanada

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Oct 31, 2017, 09:00 ET

Prestigious Gold Leaf Award recognizes enGene's leadership and achievements

MONTREAL, Oct. 31, 2017 /PRNewswire/ - enGene Inc., a biotechnology company focused on the development of a proprietary Gene Pill^TM platform, has been awarded a prestigious Gold Leaf Award and named Company of the Year by BIOTECanada, Canada's national biotechnology industry association.

"Everyone at enGene is deeply honored to receive this award from BIOTECanada," said Dr. Anthony Cheung, President and CEO of enGene. "It recognizes enGene's significant growth since the start of 2016. Building on our record of partnering success with Johnson & Johnson, we signed a partnership and licensing agreement with Takeda in 2016 to develop several novel therapeutics for gastrointestinal diseases. We also made significant progress developing our innovative oral gene therapy platform, and on boarded a wholly-owned product to our development pipeline that involves targeting PD-L1 expression in the gut for the treatment of acute GvHD and colitis. These achievements would not have been possible without the dedication and outstanding performance of everyone on the enGene team, and the support of our shareholders and board of directors."

"In a short period, enGene has made remarkable progress in developing its novel delivery mechanism which represents a potential game-changer for the treatment of gastrointestinal disorders. The nature of enGene's growth and success underscores the important role Canada's diverse biotech ecosystem plays in the development of innovation," said Andrew Casey, President and CEO BIOTECanada. "In addition, enGene's commercial growth was accelerated by key investments from Canadian venture capital investors Lumira Capital and the Fonds de Solidarité FTQ, and partnership support from two multinational pharmaceutical companies: Takeda and Johnson & Johnson. I congratulate enGene and its partners on being voted Company of the Year and certainly look forward to following their progress over the years ahead."

The Gold Leaf Awards were launched in 2001 to recognize companies and individuals who have made significant contributions to the biotech industry in Canada. The Company of the Year Award recognizes a company that has distinguished itself with leadership, strong overall performance, a solid foundation for a diverse pipeline and potential for earnings. Award winners are chosen by an Advisory Panel of industry peers.

BIOTECanada will present the award at the NEOMED Celebrates 5 Years event to be held November 16, 2017, from 16:30 to 19:00, at the NEOMED Institute, 7171 Frederick Banting, Montreal.

About enGene
enGene Inc. is a biotechnology company developing a robust proprietary gene-therapy platform for localized delivery of immune-modulating proteins to mucosal cells lining the gut for the oral treatment of various immune disorders. enGene has developed a unique gut-optimized gene delivery formulation into an orally available "Gene Pill" to provide oral delivery of a wide range of protein drugs. enGene has established global strategic alliances with two large pharmaceutical companies. Oral gene delivery is a game-changing improvement over current protein-drug delivery methods which involve injections and represent risks of side effects, high cost, poor patient compliance and systemic problems due to the need to administer higher doses. www.engeneinc.com/

About BIOTECanada
BIOTECanada is the national industry association with over 200 members located nationwide, reflecting the diverse nature of Canada's health, industrial and agricultural biotechnology sectors. In addition to providing significant health benefits for Canadians, the biotechnology industry has quickly become an essential part of the transformation of many traditional cornerstones of the Canadian economy including manufacturing, automotive, energy, aerospace and forestry industries.

SOURCE enGene