Entos launches US-based spinout Aegis Life, Inc. to support its global vaccine strategy

EDMONTON, AB, October 15, 2020 – Entos Pharmaceuticals (Entos), a Canadian biotechnology company developing nucleic acid medicines with its breakthrough proprietary Fusogenix drug delivery platform, is pleased to announce the launch of its USA-based spinout company Aegis Life, Inc. (Aegis). Aegis is dedicated to the development, manufacturing, and global distribution of novel DNA vaccines using Entos’ Fusogenix technology. Their most advanced program is a novel DNA vaccine designed to generate durable immunity against SARS-CoV-2, and Aegis is now pursuing US and international investment to support rapid development of its lead vaccine candidate.

Entos’ team of Canadian scientists have developed Fusogenix as a platform to effectively and safely deliver nucleic acid medicines directly inside cells as therapeutics for cancers and other diseases. Fusogenix technology enables researchers to rapidly prototype vaccine candidates and allows for modular, large scale manufacturing, both of which are ideal characteristics for the rapid development of DNA-based vaccines in response to SARS-CoV-2 and other future human pathogenic viruses.

As part of a new agreement with Nature Technology Corporation (NTC), Aegis Life and Entos will use NTC’s proprietary Nanoplasmid™ plasmid DNA technology and manufacturing platform for the clinical and commercial production of their SARS-CoV-2 vaccine, as well as other DNA vaccine candidates. In preclinical studies, NTC’s Nanoplasmid™ vector expressing the SARS-CoV-2 spike protein induced potent humoral immunity, and a durable and balanced cell-mediated response against SARS-CoV-2. The Nanoplasmid™ vector is small, non-immunogenic, and designed to provide optimal expression of genes for vaccine or therapeutic development. It uses a simple sugar for strain selection, making this a superior vector for GMP manufacturing of clinical-stage vaccine candidates.

“Over the course of more than ten years of focused R&D, we engineered Fusogenix technology to effectively and safely deliver nucleic acid cargo directly inside cells. It is the ideal platform to address this global crisis by allowing the development and manufacture of millions of doses of safe, stable and effective vaccines for people worldwide,” said John Lewis, CEO, Entos Pharmaceuticals. “We’re excited to launch Aegis Life in the US and to license the use of NTC’s Nanoplasmid vector technology to manufacture this vaccine as well as future vaccines and therapeutics.”

Aegis is actively seeking funding from government and investors to:

• Advance its DNA-based vaccine candidates targeting SARS-CoV-2 into and through late-stage clinical trials to assess the safety and effectiveness

• Accelerate the scaling of commercial manufacturing capacity to produce millions of vaccine doses; and

• Facilitate international distribution of vaccine doses to the global population.

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Our mission is to improve the effectiveness, safety, availability and economy of gene-based medicines. Our goal is to aid in the discovery and dissemination of improvements for the benefit of our industry partners and ultimately the patients we all serve. Since our founding in 1998 by a small group of researchers led by former CEO and founder, Dr. Clague Hodgson and inventor and CSO, Dr. Jim Williams, and Aaron Carnes, VP of Manufacturing, Nature Technology has been at the forefront of genetic non-viral vector technology.

At Aegis Life, we develop the next generation of DNA vaccines and therapies for the world’s most dangerous diseases, including COVID-19. This non-viral gene delivery platform allows us to rapidly prototype and advance DNA medicines through the clinical trial process. For more information, visit http://www.aegis.life

Entos develops next generation nucleic acid-based therapies using its proprietary Fusogenix drug delivery system. Fusogenix is a proteo-lipid vehicle (PLV) formulation that uses a novel mechanism of action to deliver molecules, intact and unmodified, directly into the cytosol of target cells. The technology applies a wide range of therapeutic types including gene therapy, mRNA, miRNA, RNAi, CRISPR and small molecule drugs. For more information, visit http://www.entospharma.com.

For more information contact:

John D. Lewis, Ph.D.

CEO, Entos Pharmaceuticals, Inc.

Email: [email protected]