Aptorum Group Limited Corporate Update and To Hold Q1 2020 Investor Update Call To Discuss Recent Development and Pipeline Progress

HONG KONG, Mar 30, 2020 – (ACN Newswire) – Aptorum Group Limited (Nasdaq: APM) ("Aptorum Group"), a biopharmaceutical company focused on the development of novel therapeutics to address global unmet medical needs, today provides an update on the Company's operations in light of the recent declaration of the coronavirus outbreak as a pandemic declared by the World Health Organisation on March 11, 2020.

Aptorum Group's operational plans continue to remain on track, and in particular the recently announced updates on SACT-1 (targeting Neuroblastoma) and ALS-4 (targeting Staphylococcus aureus) remain on track for its pre-IND preparation work and will continue to target for IND submission in the second half of 2020. With the additional capital raised in February 2020, the Company is also on track in expanding strategic initiatives including the discovery and development pipeline such as the recently announced initiative SACT-COV19 (targeting COVID-19 disease) and additional Smart-Act platform projects being SACT-2 and SACT-3, which will be announced in due course. The Company, together with the distributor, is also focused on the distribution of the recently announced non-hormonal based Dioscorea Opposita bioactive nutraceutical supplement targeting woman's health during menopause or post-menopause cycles. In light of the global coronavirus situation, the Company would like to report that its day to day operations continue to proceed as normal.

The management of the Company will also host its first quarter 2020 investor update conference call to discuss recent developments and plans for the Company on Thursday, April 2, 2020. Aptorum Group will also provide updates during the call on the progress of its existing pipeline, including SACT-1 and ALS-4, and the latest announced project targeting the coronavirus group including COVID-19. A conference call will be held on Thursday, April 2, 2020 at 10:00am Hong Kong time (April 1, 2020 at 10:00pm EST) by the executive management team. If you have any specific question(s) for the Company and its projects, please email your question(s) to investor.relations@aptorumgroup.com on or before 10:00pm EST Tuesday, March 31, 2020.
To participate in the call, please dial +852 3018 8307 (for Hong Kong callers) or 1-844-760 0770 (for US callers) using conference ID number 6995532. The archived webcast will be available on the Investors section of Aptorum Group's website (http://ir.aptorumgroup.com/) approximately one hour after the call has completed.

About Aptorum Group Limited
Aptorum Group Limited (Nasdaq: APM) is a pharmaceutical company dedicated to developing and commercializing novel therapeutics to tackle unmet medical needs. Aptorum Group's current drug pipeline include indications in orphan diseases, infectious diseases and metabolic diseases and a number of which are targeted to enter clinical trial phases in 2020. Aptorum Group also operates a woman's health supplement business whose Dioscorea Opposita Bioactive Nutraceutical Tablets are currently being commercialized.

For more information about Aptorum Group, please visit www.aptorumgroup.com.

Disclaimer and Forward-Looking Statements
This press release includes statements concerning Aptorum Group Limited and its future expectations, plans and prospects that constitute "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. For this purpose, any statements contained herein that are not statements of historical fact may be deemed to be forward-looking statements. In some cases, you can identify forward-looking statements by terms such as "may," "should," "expects," "plans," "anticipates," "could," "intends," "target," "projects," "contemplates," "believes," "estimates," "predicts," "potential," or "continue," or the negative of these terms or other similar expressions. Aptorum Group has based these forward-looking statements, which include statements regarding projected timelines for application submissions and trials, largely on its current expectations and projections about future events and trends that it believes may affect its business, financial condition and results of operations. These forward-looking statements speak only as of the date of this press release and are subject to a number of risks, uncertainties and assumptions including, without limitation, risks related to its announced management and organizational changes, the continued service and availability of key personnel, its ability to expand its product assortments by offering additional products for additional consumer segments, development results, the company's anticipated growth strategies, anticipated trends and challenges in its business, and its expectations regarding, and the stability of, its supply chain, and the risks more fully described in Aptorum Group's Form 20-F and other filings that Aptorum Group may make with the SEC in the future. As a result, the projections included in such forward-looking statements are subject to change. Aptorum Group assumes no obligation to update any forward-looking statements contained in this press release as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.

Contacts
Investors:
Tel: +852 2117 6611
Email: investor.relations@aptorumgroup.com

Media:
Tel: + 852 2117 6611
Email: info@aptorumgroup.com


Copyright 2020 ACN Newswire. All rights reserved. http://www.acnnewswire.com

Dyadic Announces Nonexclusive Research License with WuXi Biologics

JUPITER, FL / ACCESSWIRE, Mar 30, 2020 – (ACN Newswire) – Dyadic International, Inc. ("Dyadic" or the "Company") (NASDAQ:DYAI), a global biotechnology company focused on further improving and applying its proprietary C1 gene expression platform to accelerate development, lower production costs and improve the performance of biologic vaccines, drugs, and other biologic products, at flexible commercial scales, today announced that it has entered into a nonexclusive research collaboration with WuXi Biologics, a leading global open-access biologics technology platform company and Contract Development and Manufacturing Organization (CDMO).

Under the terms of the research license agreement, Dyadic will grant WuXi Biologics restricted access to its proprietary and patented C1 gene expression platform and allow WuXi Biologics to evaluate the C1 technology in a cGMP facility and to perform certain experiments to the C1 cell lines for any other internal noncommercial purpose. WuXi Biologics, one of the global top ten CDMOs, which provides development and manufacturing services to pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies globally, will invest its own resources to evaluate the C1 platform for their customers worldwide.

"We are excited to announce this agreement with one of the world's most prestigious CDMOs. As highlighted by the current coronavirus vaccine and drug situation, there appears to be a growing market demand to find a faster and more efficient gene expression technology platform for vaccine and drug development and manufacturing. We believe that our C1 technology may be ideally suited to help fill this gap for many types of biologic vaccines and drugs and we are continuing to see interest from both our previously announced collaborators as well as other global bio-pharmaceutical companies and governmental agencies," commented Matthew Jones, Dyadic's Managing Director, Business Development and Licensing.

"We believe that today's announcement further highlights the diverse and growing opportunities for Dyadic to leverage its C1 technology platform to begin to help address the cost of goods issues associated with vaccine and drug development and manufacturing as well as to help overcome gene expression challenges that have either been shelved or stalled in R&D. The agreement with WuXi Biologics has the potential to further expand our global footprint and provide another potential catalyst for growth," said Mark Emalfarb, CEO of Dyadic.

"Over the past decade, microbial fermentation has reached a higher level of sophistication, with wider adoption in the biopharmaceutical industry and we are excited to expand our technology platforms into this promising area, utilizing our extensive know-how in biologics discovery, development and manufacturing," said Dr. Chris Chen, CEO of WuXi Biologics. "We have been exploring the right time to work with Dyadic in the hopes of further speeding the adoption and use of their industrially proven C1 gene expression platform. With our decision to expand our technology platforms and CDMO service offerings to include microbial fermentation, coupled with the significant improvements Dyadic has and continues to make to its C1 technology platform, it now seems like the appropriate time to evaluate C1 at WuXi Biologics where it may be better suited to speed the development, lower the cost and improve the performance of a number of biologic vaccines and drugs for our customers."

About WuXi Biologics

WuXi Biologics (stock code: HK.2269), a Hong Kong-listed company, is a leading global open-access biologics technology platform offering end-to-end solutions to empower organizations to discover, develop and manufacture biologics from concept to commercial manufacturing. Our company history and achievements demonstrate our commitment to providing a truly ONE-stop service offering and strong value proposition to our global clients. As of December 31, 2019, there were a total of 250 integrated projects, including 121 projects in pre-clinical development stage, 112 projects in early-phase (phase I and II) clinical development, 16 projects in late-phase (phase III) development and one project in commercial manufacturing. With total estimated capacity for biopharmaceutical production planned in China, Ireland, Singapore, Germany, and the U.S. exceeding 280,000 liters by 2022, we will provide our biomanufacturing partners with a robust and premier-quality global supply chain network. For more information on WuXi Biologics, please visit www.wuxibiologics.com.

About Dyadic International, Inc.

Dyadic International, Inc. is a global biotechnology company which is developing what it believes will be a potentially significant biopharmaceutical gene expression platform based on the fungus Thermothelomyces heterothallica (formerly Myceliophthora thermophila), named C1. The C1 microorganism, which enables the development and large scale manufacture of low cost proteins, has the potential to be further developed into a safe and efficient expression system that may help speed up the development, lower production costs and improve the performance of biologic vaccines and drugs at flexible commercial scales. Dyadic is using the C1 technology and other technologies to conduct research, development and commercial activities for the development and manufacturing of human and animal vaccines and drugs, such as virus like particles (VLPs) and antigens, monoclonal antibodies, Fab antibody fragments, Fc-Fusion proteins, biosimilars and/or biobetters, and other therapeutic proteins. Certain other research activities are ongoing which include the exploration of using C1 to develop and produce certain metabolites and other biologic products. Dyadic pursues research and development collaborations, licensing arrangements and other commercial opportunities with its partners and collaborators to leverage the value and benefits of these technologies in development and manufacture of biopharmaceuticals. In particular, as the aging population grows in developed and undeveloped countries, Dyadic believes the C1 technology may help bring biologic vaccines, drugs and other biologic products to market faster, in greater volumes, at lower cost, and with new properties to drug developers and manufacturers and, hopefully, improve access and cost to patients and the healthcare system, but most importantly save lives.

Please visit Dyadic's website at http://www.dyadic.com for additional information, including details regarding Dyadic's plans for its biopharmaceutical business.

Safe Harbor Regarding Forward-Looking Statements
This press release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933 and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, including those regarding Dyadic International's expectations, intentions, strategies and beliefs pertaining to future events or future financial performance. Actual events or results may differ materially from those in the forward-looking statements as a result of various important factors, including those described in the Company's most recent filings with the SEC. Dyadic assumes no obligation to update publicly any such forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise. For a more complete description of the risks that could cause our actual results to differ from our current expectations, please see the section entitled "Risk Factors" in Dyadic's annual reports on Form 10-K and quarterly reports on Form 10-Q filed with the SEC, as such factors may be updated from time to time in Dyadic's periodic filings with the SEC, which are accessible on the SEC's website at http://www.dyadic.com

Contacts:

WuXi Biologics
Media Contact
Kevin Huang PhD
Phone: +86 (510) 85353705
Email: Kevin_Huang@wuxibiologics.com

Ireland Business
Angus Turner
Phone: +44 (0) 7407 733336
Email: Angus_Turner@wuxiapptec.com

Dyadic International, Inc.
Dyadic International, Inc.
Ping Rawson CFO
Phone: +1 (561) 743-8333
Email: prawson@dyadic.com

SOURCE: Dyadic International, Inc.

Copyright 2020 ACN Newswire. All rights reserved. http://www.acnnewswire.com

Sino Biopharm Announces 2019 Annual Results

HONG KONG, Mar 30, 2020 – (ACN Newswire) – Sino Biopharmaceutical Limited ("Sino Biopharm" or the "Company", together with its subsidiaries, the "Group") (HKEX: 1177), a leading, innovative research and development driven pharmaceutical conglomerate in the PRC, has announced its financial results for the year ended 31 December 2019 ("the year"). The Group's overall results for the year continued to show considerable growth. The share of revenue contributed by new products in the Group's total revenue also increased notably, demonstrating its mature integrated capability in launching and promoting innovative products.

Results Highlights
– A total of 28 products including Lenalidomide capsules, Abiraterone Acetate tablet and several indications of Anlotinib capsules obtained the approval for drug registration granted by the National Medical Products Administration. Over 40% of these products are oncology drugs and the competitive edge of our oncology product line has been substantially enhanced. Some 19 products have passed (or are deemed to have passed) the Consistency Evaluation.
– Commanding a total investment of RMB3 billion and occupying an area of 520 mu, CT Tianqing's new drug R&D and production base opened, significantly boosting the Group's integrated strength in the biopharmaceutical area.
– Sino Biopharm ranked 42nd in U.S. magazine Pharm Exec's "Top 50 Companies 2019", as one of the only two Chinese companies on the list.
– Sino Biopharm garnered several awards at "The All-Asia-Executive Team 2019" held by Institutional Investor, and ranked 3rd among the "Honored Companies".
– Sino Biopharm was the only Chinese pharmaceutical company named among Forbes' "Asia 200 Best Over a Billion 2019".
– The quality control study "Shortening the Lyophilization Cycle of Product 'F'" presented by CT Tianqing, a subsidiary of the Company, won the International Quality Gold Award at the 44th International Convention on Quality Control Circles (ICQCC) held in Tokyo, Japan.
– At the "China ChemPharm Annual Summit 2019", Sino Biopharm's subsidiaries, namely CT Tianqing, Beijing Tide, NJCTT, Jiangsu CT Fenghai and CP Qingdao, were included in the Top 100 List of "Outstanding Enterprises and Outstanding Product Brands in China's Chemical Pharmaceutical Industry 2019". CT Tianqing again led the "Ranking of Top 100 R&D Capabilities of Chinese Chemicals Enterprises in 2019" and ranked 2nd in the "2019 Top 100 Enterprises in the PRC Pharmaceutical Industry – Comprehensive R&D Strength".
– CT Tianqing ranked 16th and Beijing Tide ranked 41st in the list of the "2018 Top 100 Pharmaceutical Companies in China" released at the "2019 (36th session) National Pharmaceutical Industry Annual Information Conference".
– Sino Biopharm ranked 1st among the "Top 20 Most Competitive Listed Chinese Pharmaceutical Companies" released at the "2019 China Healthcare Summit of Entrepreneurs, Scientists and Investors", and at the same time also ranked 2nd in the first-tier category of "Top 100 Innovative Pharmaceutical Enterprises in China".
– Eight new drug studies conducted by CT Tianqing were recognised as "National Major Innovative Drug Projects". The number of drug studies approved was among the highest in the country.
– Chia Tai Tianqing Akeso (Shanghai) Biomedical Technology Company Limited, a joint-venture company invested jointly by CT Tianqing and Akeso Biopharma, was officially set up in Shanghai. The joint venture is engaged in the development of the differentiated tumor immunotherapy PD-1 antibody drugs.

Results
During the year, the Group recorded revenue of approximately RMB24.23 billion, representing an increase of approximately 16.0% over the last year. Profit attributable to the owners of the parent was approximately RMB2.71 billion, approximately 70.1% lower than that of the last year. Such year-on year decrease was only due to the absence of a substantial one-off gain on step acquisition recorded last year. Excluding the impact of the one-off gain on step acquisition and the annual amortization expenses of new identifiable intangible assets arising from the acquisition of 24% interests in Beijing Tide, as well as the unrealized net fair value losses on equity investments and financials assets, underlying profit attributable to owners of the parent amounted to approximately RMB3.13 billion, increased by approximately 10.2% as compared with the last year. Based on underlying profit attributable to the owners of the parent, the earnings per share were approximately RMB24.97 cents, 8.7% higher than the last year. The Group has maintained a strong financial position with cash and bank balances reaching approximately RMB11.91 billion at the year end.

The Board of Directors recommended a final dividend payment of HK2.0 cents per share. Together with the dividend of HK2.0 cents already paid in each of the first three quarters, the total dividends for the year amounted to HK8.0 cents (2018: HK8.0 cents).

Business Highlights
During the year, the Group has re-located more resources in strengthening R&D and focused its academic promotion on oncology drugs and other new products with less competition. Two new indications of Anlotinib capsules have been approved and subsequently achieved great sales success. Other oncology drugs including Yinishu, Yigu, Shoufu, Qianping, Saiweijian and a recently approved product, Yijiu, analgesic medicines including Flurbiprofen cataplasm, cardio-cerebral medicines including Kaina and Xijia, digestive system medicines including Aisuping, Getai and Deyou and anti-infectious medicines including Tianjie and Tianli all enjoyed rapid growth. Markets for infusion solution products including Fenghaina, Qingkeping and the newly-launched contrast agent product Qingliming also expanded, leading to fast growth in sales.

During the year, the Group achieved an outstanding research and development ("R&D") performance and the Group obtained 28 production approvals and had 19 products passed Consistency Evaluation. Also, 23 products obtained clinical approval. The Group has made 25 new production applications and filed 19 new clinical trial applications. In addition, some 26 new applications for Consistency Evaluation have been accepted. The Group has obtained 83 invention patent approvals and filed 341 applications for invention patents. In addition, Tenofovir Disoproxil Fumarate tablet (Qingzhong) has obtained Marketing Authorization (MA) from the EU, marking a milestone for the Group to officially enter into the international mainstream market.

During the year, the sales performance of the Group's major medicine categories are outlined below:

Hepatitis medicines
The sales of hepatitis medicines amounted to approximately RMB5,739.72 million, representing approximately 23.7% of the Group's revenue.
— Tianqingganping enteric capsules sales amounted to approximately RMB525.04 million, an increase of approximately 22.5% against the last year.
— Tianqingganmei injections recorded sales of approximately RMB1,803.57 million, an increase of approximately 5.5% against the last year.

Oncology medicines
The sales of oncology medicines amounted to approximately RMB5,427.88 million, representing approximately 22.4% of the Group's revenue.
— Sales of Saiweijian injections amounted to approximately RMB704.52 million during the review period, an increase of approximately 37.5% as compared with the last year.
— Sales of Yinishu tablets amounted to approximately RMB224.90 million, a significant increase of approximately 36.8% as compared with the last year.
— Sales of Shoufu tablets amounted to approximately RMB214.16 million, an increase of 26.6% as compared with the last year.
— Sales of new product Anxian capsules amounted to approximately RMB176.06 million.
— Sales of another new product Qianping injections amounted to approximately RMB166.75 million, a sharp increase of 125.7% as compared with the last year.

Cardio-cerebral medicines
The sales of cardio-cerebral medicines amounted to approximately RMB3,116.29 million, representing approximately 12.9% of the Group's revenue.
— Sales of Yilunping tablets amounted to approximately RMB910.34 million, a year-on-year increase of approximately 16.2%.
— Sales of Tuotuo calcium tablets amounted to approximately RMB753.55 million, a year-on-year increase of approximately 14.8%.
— Sales of Kaina tablets amounted to approximately RMB513.07 million, an increase of approximately 25.1% as compared with the last year.

Orthopedic medicines
The sales of orthopedic medicines amounted to approximately RMB1,809.36 million, representing approximately 7.5% of the Group's revenue.
— Sales of Gaisanchun capsules amounted to approximately RMB1,047.15 million, rising by approximately 4.6% as compared with the last year.
— Sales of Yigu injections amounted to approximately RMB315.05 million, a remarkable increase of approximately 68.8% against the last year.

Digestive system medicines
The sales of digestive system medicines amounted to approximately RMB1,529.55 million, representing approximately 6.3% of the Group's revenue.
— Sales of Aisuping injection amounted to approximately RMB949.25 million, a significant increase of approximately 26.5% as compared with the last year.
— Sales of Getai tablets amounted to approximately RMB327.29 million, an increase of approximately 37.6% as compared with the last year.
— Sales of Deyou granule amounted to approximately RMB176.84 million, a remarkable increase of approximately 66.8% as compared with the last year.

Respiratory system medicines
The sales of respiratory medicines amounted to approximately RMB1,084.61 million, representing approximately 4.5% of the Group's revenue.
— Sales of Tianqingsule inhalation powder amounted to approximately RMB627.43 million, an increase of approximately 24.3% as compared with the last year.

Anti-infectious medicines
The sales of anti-infectious medicines amounted to approximately RMB1,032.19 million, representing approximately 4.3% of the Group's revenue.
— Sales of Tiance injections amounted to approximately RMB564.49 million.
— Sales of Tianjie injections amounted to approximately RMB308.10 million, an increase of approximately 37.5% against the last year.
— Sales of Tianli (Linezolid and Glucose) injections amounted to approximately RMB98.78 million, a significant increase of approximately 101.1% against the last year.

Others
The sales of others amounted to approximately RMB4,494.43 million, representing approximately 18.4% of the Group's revenue.
— Sales of Debaian Cataplasm amounted to approximately RMB1,066.98 million, increased by approximately 42.4% against the last year.

R&D
During the year, the total R&D expenditure (including expensed off in the statement of profit or loss and recorded as development costs in the statement of financial position) amounted to approximately RMB2,651.53 million, which accounted for approximately 10.9% of the Group's revenue.

The Group has continued to focus its R&D efforts on new hepatitis, oncology, respiratory system and cardio-cerebral medicines. During the fourth quarter, the Group was granted 9 clinical trial approvals, 9 production approvals, and 6 approvals for Consistency Evaluation, and made 6 clinical trial applications, 4 applications for Consistency Evaluation and 11 production applications. Cumulatively, a total of 486 pharmaceutical products had obtained clinical trial approval, or were under clinical trial or applying for production approval. Out of these, 34 were for hepatitis medicines, 204 for oncology medicines, 27 for respiratory system medicines, 27 for endocrine, 50 for cardio-cerebral medicines and 144 for other medicines.

The Group also emphasizes on the protection of intellectual property rights. It encourages its subsidiaries to apply for patent applications as a means to enhance the Group's core competitiveness. During the fourth quarter, the Group has received 23 authorized patent notices (all were invention patents) and filed 83 new patent applications (77 invention patents, 1 utility model patents and 5 apparel design patents). Cumulatively, the Group has obtained 766 invention patent approvals, 23 utility model patents and 90 apparel design patents.

Prospects
Looking ahead to 2020, the implementation of measures including the launch of and adjustments to the New National Medical Reimbursement Drug List, realization of payment categorized under DRG, the Key Monitoring Drug List and performance evaluation of hospitals will speed up the adjustments to the products and overall industry landscapes, hence the turning point of the survival of the fittest gradually emerged in the industry. The implementation of new measures encouraging innovation will accelerate the approval and launch of innovative products. Leading local enterprises in the country will be confronted with more intense competition from multinational companies in terms of innovative products. Those companies like Sino Biopharm, which have strong innovative and R&D capabilities and continuously launch new products in the market, highlight their advantages. In addition to marketing more new products and consolidating its dominant position in the hepatitis and oncology small molecular drug sectors, the Group also places high value on the increasingly important treatment and market value of biopharmaceutical medicines and thus has adopted a comprehensive roadmap covering different facets from R&D to the production.

Also, in order to cope with the spread of the novel coronavirus around the world, the Group has maintained ample liquidity. As of 31 December 2019, its cash and bank balances amounted to approximately RMB11.91 billion, which is sufficient for withstanding any shocks that may result from abrupt changes in the economic and industry environments. Facing the fierce outbreak, the Group promptly made the decision in late January 2020 to issue zero coupon convertible bonds with a principal amount of EURO750 million. This move consequently generated more abundant funds for the Group. The Group will make good use of its capital and competitive advantages, to actively seek for high-quality acquisitions, investments and cooperation projects, to expand its core pharmaceutical business, as well as to comprehensively promote its greater healthcare development strategy, so as to lay the foundation for the Group's rapid development in the next decade.

Stepping into 2020, 5G network and devices have become more popular in Mainland China. As such, the Group will continue to step up its investment in big data, digitalization and artificial intelligence, as well as increase the use of related advanced technologies. These strategies will allow Group not only to further enhance its efficiency in management, R&D, production and sales, but also create greater value for the industry and patients and promote the development of "patient-oriented" pharmaceutical services, pharmaceutical care services and chronic disease management systems, providing full course disease management solutions from which patients can benefit.

Some newly approved products
New indication of Anlotinib Capsules( FOCUS V): Anlotinib has obtained the approval for a new indication for soft tissue sarcoma, becoming the first such targeted drug approved in China. It has also been included in the guidelines for the diagnosis and treatment of soft tissue sarcoma by the Chinese Society of Clinical Oncology.

Gadoxetic Acid Disodium Injection (Xian'ai): This liver-specific magnetic resonance contrast agent is the first generic drug of its type in China. The product is able to increase the detection rate of small liver tumors, facilitating early diagnosis and treatment of liver lesions. It is also expected to replace invasive examinations and has piqued the widespread interest of the industry.

Iodixanol Injection: Iodixanol is the only X-ray diagnostic contrast agent that is isotonic with blood. It is recognized and recommended by numerous domestic and international clinical guidelines and expert consensus for enhancing the lesion detection rate and functioning as diagnostic identification in the examinations of organ disease in the nervous and cardiovascular systems, chest, abdomen, pelvis, etc. As the third generic drug of its type in China, this product is expected to complement Xian'ai in the area of marketing.

Rivaroxaban Tablet: Rivaroxaban is an important product for preventing vein thrombosis after orthopedic operations. The Group has succeeded in producing and launching the first generic drug for this medicine.

Apixaban Tablet: Apixaban is applicable to adult patients who have undergone hip joint or knee joint elective replacement to prevent venous thromboembolism. Apixaban has a wider therapeutic window and broader market prospects. Apixaban tablets has been included in the New National Medical Reimbursement Drug List and is expected to become the major new product in the portfolio of the Group.

Abiraterone Acetate Tablet (Qingkeshu): Abiraterone Acetate Tablet is a drug for prostate cancer treatment of new mechanism of action. It has been designated as a first-line or second-line treatment option for prostate cancer by European and American clinical guidelines. Prostate cancer is the second most common type of tumor in men worldwide. In China, prostate cancer is the most common genitourinary cancer in men.

Fosaprepitant Dimeglumine for Injection: This neurokinin-1 (NK-1) antiemetic drug is recommended in numerous domestic and overseas guidelines. The Group is one of the first batch of domestic enterprises successfully producing a generic drug of this kind. This product can perfectly complement the Group's oncology medicine product line, which has already enjoyed the advantage, and is expected to become a heavyweight product in its oncology product line.

Caspofungin Acetate for Injection: This first new echinocandin antifungal drug has broad-spectrum antifungal activity. It has become the market's star product among the antifungal drugs for systemic use.

Tofacitinib Citrate Tablet (Tai'yan): This oral small molecule inhibitor of JAK1/JAK3. Tofacitinib has promising efficacy for treating rheumatoid arthritis, ulcerative colitis, active psoriatic arthritis, moderate-to-severe active ulcerative colitis. The Group is the first in the country to produce generic drugs of this kind. The Group has also obtained approval for Celecoxib Capsule, a classic osteoarthritis medicine with wide indications and a mature market. With the approval of Taiyan, the value of the osteoarthritis drug product lines has also surged substantially.

About Sino Biopharmaceutical Limited (HKEX:1177)
Sino Biopharm Limited is a leading, innovative research and development driven pharmaceutical conglomerate in the PRC. Its business encompasses a fully-integrated chain which spans from R&D to the manufacture and sales of pharmaceutical products. The Group's products have gained a competitive foothold across various therapeutic categories with promising potential, covering a vast array of biopharmaceutical and chemical medicines for treating tumors, liver diseases, respiratory system diseases, cardio-cerebral diseases and orthopedic diseases.

Sino Biopharm is a constituent stock of the following indices: MSCI Global Standard Indices – MSCI China Index, Hang Seng Index, Hang Seng Index – Commerce & Industry, Hang Seng Composite Index, Hang Seng Composite Industry Index – Consumer Goods, Hang Seng Composite LargeCap Index, Hang Seng Composite LargeCap & MidCap Index, Hang Seng China (Hong Kong-listed) 100 Index and Hang Seng Stock Connect Hong Kong Index. Sino Biopharm was ranked as one of "Asia's Fab 50 Companies" by Forbes Asia for three consecutive years in 2016, 2017 and 2018.




Copyright 2020 ACN Newswire. All rights reserved. http://www.acnnewswire.com

Blockchain Holdings to Acquire COVID-19 Quarantine Management Product TRACEsafe

VANCOUVER, BC / ACCESSWIRE, Mar 21, 2020 – (ACN Newswire) – Blockchain Holdings Ltd. ("Blockchain") (CSE:BCX), a public company listed on the Canadian Securities Exchange under the symbol "BCX", today announced that effective March 13, 2020, it entered into a binding letter of intent (the "Transaction") to acquire 100% of the rights and interests in a self-quarantine monitoring technology suite known collectively as "IMSafe" from WiSilica, Inc. ("WiSilica"). TRACEsafe is a global health monitoring product that may be deployed by governments and corporations as they fight the global COVID-19 pandemic.

TRACEsafe is an innovative suite of patent-protected health and safety products, including a flagship identification bracelet and software solution used in a variety of applications, including to administer quarantine guidelines set out by governments. In addition to quarantine applications, TRACEsafe products are being used in hospitals for infant monitoring in maternity wards and visitor monitoring to elder care facilities.

Already, TRACEsafe disposable bracelets are being deployed and in active use by the Hong Kong government manage and enforce their quarantine program for foreign visitors with initial deliveries completed. Based on the success of the program in Hong Kong, and confirmed orders in excess of 65,000 units, TRACEsafe expects to roll out in multiple countries in the coming weeks and months. TRACEsafe expects to make its next deliver of bracelets within the next 60 days, and estimates its working capital requirements for such deliveries to be approximately $300,000.

COVID-19 is widely expected to change how people shop, travel, and work for the foreseeable future, and TRACEsafe could play an important part in implementing new safety and health policies.

The Transaction

Blockchain has entered into a binding letter of intent ("the Transaction") to acquire 100% of the TRACEsafe assets. Under the terms of the Transaction, Blockchain will pay total consideration of USD$1,574,188, comprised of two cash payments of US$100,000 and US$150,000, respectively, and US$1,324,188 payable in 6,000,000 common shares of Blockchain at a deemed price of CAD$0.305 per share in exchange for all of the business assets related to the TRACEsafe Self-Quarantine Monitoring System.

In addition, under the terms of the Transaction, WiSilica and key personnel may be entitled to certain share performance bonuses. Upon achievement of specified milestones, each performance bonus consists of a one-time payment of CAD$1,200,000 in common shares of Blockchain at a deemed price of CAD$0.305 per share and 2,000,000 performance share warrants of Blockchain. Each such performance share warrant entitles WiSilica or its nominee(s) to acquire one (1) common share of Blockchain at a price of CAD$0.305 per share for a period of two years. The following business milestones will trigger a performance bonus:

1. achievement of $500,000 in gross revenue by June 30, 2020;
2. securing material contracts in at least six international countries with total volume reaching to pro rata 100,000 units per year by July 30, 2020; and
3. a software management platform for monitoring and tracking quarantine patients is set up that is purchased or otherwise subscribed to and monetized by an Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development or G20 country by no later than August 31, 2020.

Dennis Kwan, the CTO of WiSilica, is expected to be appointed as CEO of a new subsidiary of Blockchain that will hold the TRACESafe assets.

Financing

Blockchain also announced today a non-brokered private placement offering of up to 3,333,333 units (the "Units") at a price of C$0.30 per Unit for gross proceeds of up to C$1,000,000 (the "Financing").

Each Unit is comprised of one common share in the capital of Blockchain (a "Common Share") and one-half of one Common Share purchase warrant (a "Warrant"). Each whole Warrant will entitle the holder thereof to acquire one Common Share at a price of C$0.50 for a period of two years from the date of issuance of such Warrant.

Blockchain intends to use the proceeds of the Financing towards partial payment of the purchase price of the Transaction and working capital and general corporate purposes.

About TRACEsafe

TRACEsafe, is a proprietary self-quarantine management monitoring system which registers a user through a wrist tag. The tag can log time stamps and locations of the user through a single application used by both the user and administrators to a central monitoring system. TRACEsafe allows a user to declare once they have entered quarantine, and subsequently prompts periodic check-in acknowledgements. The application will alert administrators if the user fails to acknowledge a check-in, the tag is unreachable through the user's phone or if the tag has been tampered with.

TRACEsafe was developed by WiSilica, Inc., a California-based private company in the business of creating intelligent Internet of Things (IoT) solutions to enable human centric lighting, real time tracking, intelligent wireless controls, and customized IoT Solutions. It helps customers manage space, energy, and gain access to insightful reports and dashboards.

Executive Quotes

"We are delighted to play a role in expanding TRACEsafe, which we believe will play a critical role in assisting governments with the mitigation of the COVID-19 pandemic. The acquisition of the TRACEsafe business assets further advances Blockchain Holdings' technology and data aggregation business. Following the 2019 acquisition of a strategic minority equity stake in Airbeam Wireless Technologies, a 5G semiconductor manufacturer and small cell network innovator, the transaction with WiSilica further highlights Blockchain's role as a value-added investor in disruptive technology startups," stated Wayne Lloyd, CEO of Blockchain.

"TRACEsafe family of products represent the culmination of years of innovation in low-power wireless technology from WiSilica, and have been proven in many demanding applications in the health and safety market. We are humbled by the recognition by BCX through their acquisition of this part of WiSilica's business, and we look forward to much greater possibilities with the support of BCX to launch TRACEsafe into the next stage of growth," explained Dennis Kwan. "I couldn't be more excited to be a part of this cutting-edge opportunity," he continued.

About Blockchain Holdings

Blockchain provides investors and fund managers with unique insights into the growing ecosystem of crypto-assets. BCXdata.com captures and aggregates data from different blockchains for use and analysis with a clean and approachable API. With a portfolio of proprietary tools, Blockchain is giving users an institutional-grade analysis package that forms the basis for an extended suite of product offerings in the future.

This news release does not constitute an offer to sell or a solicitation of an offer to sell any of the securities in the United States. The securities have not been and will not be registered under the United States Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the "U.S. Securities Act") or any state securities laws and may not be offered or sold within the United States or to U.S. Persons unless registered under the U.S. Securities Act and applicable state securities laws or an exemption from such registration is available.

For further information, please contact:
Malcolm Burke
+1-604-220-2000
mpb@primarycapital.net

Alan Tam, CFO
+1-604-377-7575
alantamca@gmail.com

Wayne Lloyd
+1-604-629-9975
wayne@blockchainholdingsltd.com

This press release was prepared by management of Blockchain, which takes full responsibility for its contents. The Canadian Securities Exchange has in no way passed upon the merits of the proposed transaction and has neither approved or disapproved the contents of this press release.

Statements in this news release may contain forward-looking statements that are based on Blockchain's expectations, estimates and projections regarding its business and the economic environment in which it operates, including with respect to expectations regarding the TRACEsafe assets, the appointment of Dennis Kwan to a leadership role with respect to the TRACEsafe assets, the entering into and completion of a definitive agreement regarding the Transaction and the expected use of proceeds from the Financing. Although Blockchain believes the expectations expressed in such forward-looking statements are based on reasonable assumptions, such statements are not guarantees of future performance and involve risks and uncertainties that are difficult to control or predict. Therefore, outcomes and results may differ materially from those expressed in these forward-looking statements and readers should not place undue reliance on such statements. These forward-looking statements speak only as of the date on which they are made, and Blockchain undertakes no obligation to update them publicly to reflect new information or the occurrence of future events or circumstances unless otherwise required to do so by law.

Copyright 2020 ACN Newswire. All rights reserved. http://www.acnnewswire.com

Startup by Silicon Valley Nobel Protege Invents Compact Home Device with Blockchain Technology Capable of Detecting Coronavirus

SAN JOSE, CA, Mar 21, 2020 – (ACN Newswire) – Silicon Valley entrepreneur and Nobel Laureate Protege Dr. Ned Saleh announced today that the compact blood-testing device invented by his startup Synsal Inc. could have detected the Coronavirus outbreak and saved lives had it been deployed in the mass market. Saleh stated Synsal's technology has been verified on a similar infectious pathogen using a method called Reverse-Transcription Loop-mediated isothermal AMPlifications or RT-LAMP.

The new programmable technology — comparable in cost to a cell phone — is an innovative compact device that detects a wide range of wellness panels and human relevant biomarkers from a few drops of blood or bodily fluids. When deployed within a decentralized data-sharing network, the device can detect emerging outbreaks like the COVID-19, "for as little as $20 per test at high volume", Saleh indicated.

This technology is designed as a comprehensive quantified wellness solution and can also detect infectious outbreaks. "If you can measure it, you can improve it," Saleh said. "Powered by artificial intelligence (AI) and analytics, our device generates actionable data that engages users in an innovative rapid behavior changing process encompassing gamification and reward, it is truly Medicine 2.0 " he added. Saleh confirmed Synsal has a global presence and engaged with partners to roll out this technology worldwide including in China. The value of the exclusively user-owned and cryptographically secure data generated in Synsal's blockchain network positions the device to pay back its cost of ownership, and generate personal revenue from this new class of digital assets.

Synsal is developing an interoperable decentralized quantified wellness network on emerging blockchain platforms like BurstIQ and Harmony. Saleh stated, "this is a horizontally disruptive technology designed to bring the blockchain to every household and accelerate its adoption similar to the way email brought the internet to every household. This could shift the economic burden of healthcare cost from treatment to prevention in a global market worth over 2 Trillion dollars ($2T). Our network's quantified data sets us up to create proprietary models critical to smart epidemiological mapping and early detection, which given the rapid spread of the COVID-19 pandemic, holds potential to save lives. This extends to future inevitable outbreaks."

Saleh added, "On the financial front, our data becomes particularly relevant in today's global algorithmic trading markets. We have the capability to pre-create financial risk models to feed in data from our proprietary network to create risk assessment reports that can be shared with financial market analysts and decision makers in real-time, thus avoiding massive market sell-offs and possible recession."

Saleh started developing this technology as a graduate student at the University of Michigan in the nation's most prestigious program in nuclear engineering. He calls it "micro-plasma" and confirmed it does not occur naturally. Saleh co-built a micro-plasma laser-based machine cited in the Guinness Book of World Records which helped, in part, land his advisor Gerard Mourou the 2018 Physics Nobel Prize. Saleh declared he developed a compact next generation of this technology, now used by Synsal, based on "Van Allen electron beam micro-plasma."

Saleh, who worked at top Silicon Valley micro-electronics companies including Intel, IBM and KLA, became fascinated by miniaturization of devices and later invented a miniaturized microfluidics test lab. "Unlike past attempts to mainstream micro-sampled human diagnostics — which lacked scientific rigor and transparency — ours has been validated, and eventually will be judged by the global base of users who will adopt this technology and monetize the valuable data it generates."

When asked why Synsal technology has unique positioning and world-changing potential, Saleh said "We believe our technology has an absolute insurmountable differential advantage. We state this confidently based on borrowed knowledge from Moore's Law in the semiconductor industry. We have transformed the principles of selective patterning into microfluidics and assay preparation, and as such set the theoretical limit on progressive densification of surface functionality, which we think is superior until competitive technologies prove otherwise."

Brigitte Piniewski, M.D. is a primary care physician, researcher, author and digital health start-up advisor including Synsal. Dr. Piniewski stated that the community strongly needs a personally relevant biomarker testing service which cannot be provided through traditional healthcare. "When open access to stand-alone, biomarker testing becomes the norm, human health intelligence will advance in leaps and bounds. In parallel, the Synsal blockchain-based record management solution provides a data-as-financial-asset service laying the foundation for the human-centric societies of tomorrow." [linkedin.com/in/brigittepiniewski/]

Kapil Amarasinghe is a British medical doctor, blockchain promoter and influencer. His daily practice in emergency-room medicine puts him at the forefront of immediate critical medical decision-making. Dr. Amarasinghe believes the Synsal technology provides powerful predictive value from AI and analytics that helps understand broad wellness trends, an urgent and unmet need today from the large but siloed clinical databases. [linkedin.com/in/kapil-amarasinghe-97a71965/]

Yev Muchnik is a technology attorney, influencer and thought leader in the blockchain space. She works with emerging growth companies across various industries incorporating blockchain technology and was recently on the Blockchain Advisory Group to the Colorado Department of Agriculture. She too is a Synsal advisor and believes a provenance for capturing quantified self-data is critical in today's world of data manipulation and critical need for ethical data governance. "Synsal's model is very promising in bringing back ownership of data to their originators, especially in the wellness and health domain, thanks to the capability of blockchain technology." [linkedin.com/in/yevmuchnik/]

Synsal is partnering with Harmony (https://harmony.one/), a fast and secure blockchain company whose mission is to scale trust for billions of people, in order to build and scale the Synsal health data monetization platform. Stephen Tse, the Founder & CEO of Harmony and a serial entrepreneur from Silicon Valley, stated "We are building Harmony as the infrastructure layer for applications with global reach and are excited to work with Synsal to help everyone secure their personal health data."

Please visit: https://synsal.com or email: info@synsal.com.
Dr. Ned Saleh is on https://www.linkedin.com/in/ned-saleh-phd-3224293/.

Contact:
Synsal, Inc.
5407 Silver Vista Way, San Jose, CA. 95138
Gideon Nweze: www.linkedin.com/in/gideon-nweze-b6281488/
Dr. Ned Saleh, CEO, www.linkedin.com/in/ned-saleh-phd-3224293/
Web: https://synsal.com, Telegram: https://t.me/SynsalToken

Source: Synsal, Inc.

Copyright 2020 ACN Newswire. All rights reserved. http://www.acnnewswire.com

Novotech CRO Tapped for Two Informa Citeline Awards for Excellence in Asia-Pacific Clinical Trials

SYDNEY, Mar 20, 2020 – (ACN Newswire) – Asia-Pacific's largest specialist biotech CRO Novotech has been selected as a finalist in two categories for the Citeline Awards 2020 (formerly CARE Awards), hosted by Informa Pharma Intelligence, scheduled this year on September 17th. The categories are Clinical Research Team of the Year, and Medidata Clinical Partnership of the Year.





Dr John Moller, Novotech CEO, said, "These are major milestones for the company, and further recognition of Novotech as the premier CRO in Asia-Pacific. We are particularly thrilled that the Medidata Clinical Partnership of the Year recognizes Novotech and its Chinese partner PPC, for excellence in clinical trial services in the Asia region."

Karen Currie, Citeline Executive Director of Editorial, said: "We had a highly competitive pool of entries this year. Nominations were received from a variety of organizations, from large and small CROs to young biotechs and well-established pharmas, to specialized vendors who provide indispensable services to the clinical research industry. Attaining a position on a shortlist is a tremendous achievement and we extend our congratulations to all the finalists."

Now in their fifth year, the Citeline Awards honor the accomplishments of those working behind the scenes in Clinical R&D, improving healthcare worldwide through the discovery and development of new drugs. The Citeline Awards focus on the people and companies inspiring the biopharm industry through tireless work, innovative thinking, and advances across Clinical R&D.

Currie said "Drug development is a challenging endeavor, and we are pleased and honored to celebrate the accomplishments of this distinguished group of R&D professionals at the upcoming awards ceremony."

The winners will be chosen by a distinguished panel of independent judges.
View the full Citeline Awards shortlist here: https://tinyurl.com/rppo9hv.

About Informa Pharma Intelligence
Informa Pharma Intelligence powers a full suite of analysis products – Datamonitor Healthcare, Sitetrove, Trialtrove, Pharmaprojects, Medtrack, Biomedtracker, Scrip, Pink Sheet and In Vivo – to deliver the data needed by the pharmaceutical and biomedical industry to make decisions and create real-world opportunities for growth.

With more than 500 analysts keeping their fingers on the pulse of the industry, every key disease, clinical trial, drug approval and R&D project is covered by the breadth and depth of data available to customers. For more information visit pharmaintelligence.informa.com.

About Informa PLC
Informa operates at the heart of the Knowledge and Information Economy. It is one of the world's leading business intelligence, academic publishing, knowledge, and events businesses. With more than 6,500 employees globally, it has a presence in all major geographies, including North America, South America, Asia, Europe, the Middle East and Africa.

About Novotech
Novotech, established in 1996, is internationally recognized as the leading full-service contract research organization (CRO) in Asia-Pacific. Novotech provides clinical development services across all clinical trial phases and therapeutic areas and has been instrumental in the success of over a thousand Phase I – IV clinical trials for biotech companies.

Novotech obtained the ISO 27001, the best-known standard in the ISO family, providing the requirements for an Information Security Management System. Together with the ISO 9001 Quality Management system, Novotech aims at the highest IT security and quality standards for patients and biotechnology companies. Visit http://novotech-cro.com.

For RFP enquiries, please fill in the form available at https://novotech-cro.com/talk-to-an-expert.

Media Contact
Kate Johnson
communications@novotech-cro.com
AU: +61 2 8218 2144
USA: +1 415 951 3228
Asia: +65 3159 3427

Copyright 2020 ACN Newswire. All rights reserved. http://www.acnnewswire.com

Australian CRO, Avance Clinical is Uniquely Positioned for COVID-19 Vaccines and Therapies Clinical Trials

Adelaide, AUS, Mar 20, 2020 – (ACN Newswire) – Australian CRO Avance Clinical said today that Australia's fast regulatory approval environment, key opinion leader expertise and high-quality clinical research sites, as well as the attractive 40% Government rebate on clinical trial spend, means Avance is uniquely positioned to deliver rapid results for urgent COVID-19 trials.





Avance Clinical offers 20-years of experience in the CRO sector, and has conducted vaccine and infectious diseases trials in the past 5 years. Avance is clearly the CRO of choice for trials targeting COVID-19.

"Importantly, the more than 40% R&D cash rebate from the Australian Government and the attractive current exchange rate, makes Australia one the most cost-effective destinations for conducting clinical trials," said Avance Clinical CEO Yvonne Lungershausen.

Australia's reputation for scientific and research excellence, its advanced healthcare, and the opportunity to access patients in a less clinical trial competitive environment further reinforces its advantage as a destination for current COVID-19 trials.

"Our depth of expertise and knowledge in the area makes us the CRO of choice for any biotech looking to develop treatments for COVID-19," said Ben Edwards, Avance's Chief Strategy Officer.

"It is also very important to emphasise that based on current trends, Australia is likely to be one of the countries least affected by COVID-19.

We anticipate that this sets the scene for the least amount of disruption to clinical trial activities over the period in which the world adjusts to the situation created by COVID-19."

Ms Lungershausen said in general terms, we do not anticipate significant disruption to the progress and timelines for the projects we are currently managing across all therapeutics indications. "Our team's experience in working with remotely based clients and clinical service providers and our virtual communication systems and processes place us in a clear position of strength in maintaining the momentum for our current projects," she said.

"Our team is very much accustomed to remote communication and management of projects," said Mr Edwards.

Clinical research sites in Australia have already responded to the challenges of the COVID-19 pandemic, putting measures and systems in place which aim to safeguard the interests of their patients and the general public, while also seeking to minimise disruption to clinical research activities.

The Avance Clinical operations team maintains constant communication with trial sites, receiving the latest information on ongoing changes in procedures and effectively managing the activities relating to the projects being managed by Avance.

"Avance Clinical has a range of tools available to support the sites and our clients to successfully complete their trials during this challenging time. These will be carefully managed to ensure study compliance," said Ms Lungershausen.

For more information about the benefits of running your next study in Australia contact us: https://www.avancecro.com/contact-us/

About Avance Clinical

Avance Clinical has more than 20-years of experience and is now one of Australia's leading Contract Research Organisations. Avance Clinical facilitates quality drug development by aligning people, skills, and expertise in the pursuit of drug development for a healthier world.

Avance Clinical is committed to providing high-quality clinical research services with its highly experienced team. The collective pool of knowledge and experience at Avance Clinical continually grows through the careful selection of experts who also demonstrate passion in their chosen field.

Avance Clinical offers high quality services in an established clinical trial ecosystem, that includes world-class Investigators and Sites able to access specialised patient groups. Other benefits include:

– Access to independent Phase 1 facilities across Australia including hospital-based units for critical care
– Dedicated Investigators committed to clinical research
– Major hospitals with world class infrastructures and dedicated Clinical Trial Units
– Expedited clinical trial start-up timeframes

Media Contact:
Media@AvanceCRO.com
Chris Thompson

Copyright 2020 ACN Newswire. All rights reserved. http://www.acnnewswire.com

Impact BioMedical’s Linebacker and Equivir inhibit SARS-CoV-2, virus responsible for the COVID-19 outbreak

SINGAPORE, Mar 18, 2020 – (ACN Newswire) – SGX-listed Singapore eDevelopment Ltd (SeD; SGX:40V) has announced that its wholly-owned U.S. biomedical subsidiary Impact BioMedical, Inc. has through its scientific research partner GRDG Sciences, LLC. conducted molecular docking studies utilizing advanced computational models, indicating that its Linebacker and Equivir compounds successfully inhibit infection by SARS-CoV-2, the virus responsible for the COVID-19 outbreak. The results indicate that the two compounds block 3 integral viral mechanisms for SARS-CoV-2 replication and infection: the viral spike interaction point, helicase, and protease.





Equivir and Linebacker are undergoing accelerated testing against the SARS-CoV-2 virus and data is expected to confirm efficacy based on previous work against other coronaviruses such as SARS and MERS. This research is part of a program conducted by GRDG to adhere to the principles and initiatives established by Project Bioshield and the Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority (BARDA) directives from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS).

On 11 March 2020, the World Health Organisation Director-General, Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus stated that there are more than 118,000 cases of COVID-19 in 114 countries and 4,291 people have lost their lives to COVID-19. The World Health Organisation has therefore made the assessment that COVID-19 can be characterised as a pandemic and this is the first pandemic caused by a coronavirus, he added.

"Recent studies and analyses indicate that Angiotensin converting enzyme 2 ("ACE2") could be the host receptor for the novel coronavirus 2019-nCoV/SARS-CoV-2," says Dr. David Ostrov, PhD, a structural biologist / immunologist in the Department of Pathology, Immunology and Laboratory Medicine at the University of Florida, who previously discovered compounds that bind to ACE2, blocking interactions with SARS. "These new compounds with the potential to bind ACE2 and block coronavirus entry into cells were identified by simulation of structural interactions. New drug candidates will be evaluated for effects on coronavirus with GRDG."

Identifying ACE2 as the host receptor for SARS-CoV-2 is significant, however, inhibiting ACE2 is problematic as ACE2 is required to regulate cardiovascular system. Therefore, the intention is to modulate ACE2 through a conformational change to prevent interaction with the virus while simultaneously inhibiting the helicase and protease sites of the ACE2 which are necessary for viral replication.

The research is headed by Mr. Daryl Thompson, GRDG's Director of Scientific Initiatives. "The coronavirus presents a unique challenge in that it appears to exploit a 'hand shake' docking site to human cellular membranes that is atypical of Influenza and Rhinovirus. Influenza attaches to human membranes through the use of ICAM or intercellular adhesion molecules to download its genetic material.

"It's now becoming clear that the present strain of coronavirus is hijacking the ACE2 or Angiotensin Converting Enzyme pathway to accomplish the same goal. The issue is that ACE2 is essential for maintaining the health of the pulmonary system and may not be a straightforward target for inhibition. Instead, we are utilizing both Linebacker and Equivir therapeutics as molecular probes to identify methods to make the ACE2 resistant and less accessible to coronavirus infection," says Mr. Thompson.

"We are constantly pushing to stay ahead of this virus and look to provide meaningful solutions to the current pandemic situation at the soonest," said Mr. Chan Heng Fai, Executive Chairman and Executive Director of SeD.

GRDG's Chief Scientific Advisor, Dr. Roscoe M. Moore, Jr., the former United States Assistant Surgeon General and the former Epidemic Intelligence Service Officer at Centers for Disease Control and Prevention or CDC, said, "These results are encouraging and signal the potential of Linebacker and Equivir to be important solutions to the coronavirus pandemic."

GRDG is also advised by Lieutenant Colonel William H. Lyerly Jr., retired U.S. Army Medical Service Corps Officer, and retired Career Senior Executive / Scientific Professional at the U.S. Department of Homeland Security. Lieutenant Colonel Lyerly also served as senior official in the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, the U.S. Agency for International Development, and U.S. Executive Office of the President (White House). Lieutenant Colonel Lyerly states, "the importance of technologies such as Linebacker and Equivir cannot be understated as the global spread of the virus continues to accelerate."

About Singapore eDevelopment Limited
Incorporated on 9 September 2009 and listed on the Singapore Exchange in July 2010, Singapore eDevelopment Limited is involved in (i) property development and investments primarily in the United States and Western Australia; (ii) information technology-related businesses; (iii) development, research, testing, manufacturing, licensing and distribution of biomedical products; and (iv) investment activities. For more information, please visit: www.SeD.com.sg or email contact@sed.com.sg.

About Impact BioMedical, Inc.
Impact BioMedical, Inc. is a wholly-owned direct subsidiary of Global BioMedical Pte. Ltd., a wholly-owned direct subsidiary of Singapore eDevelopment Limited, listed on the SGX. Impact BioMedical strives to leverage its scientific know-how and intellectual property rights to provide solutions that have been plaguing the biomedical field for decades. By tapping into the scientific expertise of GRDG Sciences, LLC. and ASX-listed Holista CollTech Ltd, Impact BioMedical pledges a concerted effort in R&D, drug discovery and development for the prevention, inhibition, and treatment of neurological, oncological and immuno related diseases.

About GRDG Sciences, LLC.
GRDG Sciences, LLC is an advanced research team formed in Florida by natural products discovery drug research scientist, Daryl Thompson. For more information, please visit: http://www.globalrdg.com.

Shareholders and potential investors of SeD should note that there is no certainty or assurance as at the date of this Press Release that Equivir will be licensed or close to monetisation. Shareholders and potential investors of SeD are advised to read this Press Release and any further announcements made by SeD carefully. Shareholders and potential investors of SeD are advised to refrain from taking any action with respect to their securities in SeD which may be prejudicial to their interests, and to exercise caution when dealing in the securities of SeD. Shareholders and potential investors of SeD should consult their stockbrokers, bank managers, solicitors or other professional advisers if they have any doubt about the actions they should take.


Copyright 2020 ACN Newswire. All rights reserved. http://www.acnnewswire.com

TOT BIOPHARM Announces 2019 Annual Results

HONG KONG, Mar 18, 2020 – (ACN Newswire) – TOT BIOPHARM International Company Limited ("TOT BIOPHARM" or the "Company"; stock code: 1875.HK), a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company dedicated to developing and commercializing innovative oncology drugs and therapies, announced today its audited annual results for the year ended 31 December 2019.

Mr. Fu, Shan, Chairman of TOT BIOPHARM, said "TOT BIOPHARM was listed on the Main Board of The Stock Exchange of Hong Kong Limited on 8 November, 2019, officially entering a new stage of internationalization and rapid development. We have gained access to more financing channels which are conducive to the acceleration of various operations of the Company. Leveraging its leading technological innovation capability, the Company's Research and development (R&D) projects are progressing as scheduled during the year. Highlights here include completion of patient enrolment for the Phase III clinical trial of TAB008 (a bevacizumab biosimilar for the treatment of non-squamous non-small-cell lung cancer). In addition, Phase I clinical data of TAA013 (HER2+ breast cancer), our self-developed ADC drug, was published during the year, the first T-DM1 ADC product to release this data in the Chinese market. We are encouraged that our TAB014 (An anti-VEGF Monoclonal Antibody for the Treatment of wet age-related macular degeneration) was recognized as a special major project for technologies of "innovative manufacturing of major new drugs" of China. Moreover, we have commenced diversified strategic cooperation with domestic and international companies, to accelerate the progress of major R&D projects and achieve income growth."

FINANCIAL HIGHLIGHTS (as at 31 December 2019)
Hong Kong Financial Reporting Standards Measures:

– Revenue amounted to RMB45.3 million, representing a 16% year-on-year increase, mainly attributable to diversified revenue sources such as CMO and CDMO service fees as well as commissions for marketing services provided.
– Research and development expenses amounted to RMB191.1 million, representing a 1% year-on-year increase.
– Net loss amounted to RMB299.3 million, representing a 12% year-on-year increase mainly due to listing expenses.

BUSINESS HIGHLIGHTS
Since its inception in 2009, the Company has built and established a "two-chain four-platform" system: Two-chains: a complete industrial value chain as well as a high-quality and diversified product chain; Four-platforms: Innovative technology platform, high-standard commercial production platform, clinical research platform, marketing and business platform. The integrated operation of each value chain and platform exhibits the greatest synergy. The Company's comprehensive product pipeline consists of seven biological and five chemical drug candidates, 11 of which are self-developed.

The operations of the Company's various R&D pipelines proceeded hand-in-hand during the year and achieved smooth progress with the following major milestones.

Regulatory Application:

– TOZ309: A generic drug candidate of temozolomide capsules, which is a chemical drug for the treatment of malignant brain gliomas. ANDA was submitted in July 2019. It is expected to be filed in 2020.

– TOM218: ANDA was submitted and accepted for filing.

The progress of clinical stage products

– TAB008 (a bevacizumab biosimilar for the treatment of non-squamous non-small-cell lung cancer): The Company's most advanced biological drug candidate. Patient enrollment for Phase III clinical trial of the drug was completed in 2019 as scheduled. It is currently preparing the NDA submission. The drug is expected to be approved for launch at the end of 2020 or early 2021.

– TAA013: An ADC candidate containing trastuzumabemtansine (Trastuzumab-MCC-DM1) aiming to become an affordable alternative of Kadcyla, is used for the treatment of breast cancer. The Phase I clinical data was published in 2019, which was also the first T-DM1 ADC product in the Chinese market to release this data. The Company plans to carry out Phase III clinical study in 2020 and expects to complete the Phase III clinical trial by the end of 2022 and launch the drug in 2023.

– TAB014: (A drug developed based on bevacizumab) For the treatment of disease related to retinal neovascularization, such as wet age-related macular degeneration (wAMD). It was recognized as a special major project for technologies of "innovative manufacturing of major new drugs" of China. TAB014 is in Phase I clinical trial. It is expected to complete Phase III clinical trial by 2022 and launch in 2023. The US FDA pre-IND regulatory consultation was completed during the year.

The R&D of other drugs continues to result in product launches as scheduled.

Commercialization and production
Recently, TOT BIOPHARM has been increasing investments and has established an antibody drug production base with a designed production capacity of 16,000L, thereby forming a comprehensive and high-quality drug and product chain. The Company has also developed Perfusion-Batch Hybrid Technology ("PB-Hybrid Technology"), and was the first to apply this technology to commercial-scale production in China and completed production and validation of various products and batches, thus creating a mature technology for its own utilization. The technology has disrupted the traditional processes of large-scale monoclonal antibody cell expansion. It can be expanded from 25L to 2000L directly without going through the 10L, 50L, 200L and 500L expansion steps, thereby streamlining process flows, optimizing product quality, shortening production cycles and reducing capital expenditures. This brings remarkable advantages to our production.

The Company has been engaged in the technology of antibody drug conjugates (ADC) for few years. It has already completed the R&D and trial production of ADC product TAA013, published the data of Phase I clinical trials and finished CDMO/ CMO of innovative ADC drugs with several partners. The Company is constructing the ADC drug production facility, and will be one of the few companies in China with a GMP-compliant ADCs commercial production plant, laying the foundation for the development of the ADC field. Through this experience the Company can have the advantage of quick entry into a market.

Diversified strategic cooperation
The Company takes advantage of its open platform to exploring collaborative opportunities internationally, thereby continuously enriching the Company's product pipeline and enhancing innovation capabilities. The Company will continue to extend new indications of its drug candidates and to expand its market opportunities. The Company will also proactively seek for international strategic collaboration to jointly develop innovative products. In addition, by utilizing its exclusive advantages in production and technology, the Company has conducted new cooperation for CMO, CDMO with companies such as Miracogen, Kintor and NewBio.

Future Development
Ms. Yeh-Huang, Chun-Ying, General Manager of TOT BIOPHARM, said, "Antibody-based drugs in the China market represent an enormous potential and we are ready to seize the huge market opportunities. We will continue to focus on the anti-tumour drugs segment and accelerate our R&D activities, focus on advancing the clinical research of drugs such as TAB008, TAA013 and TAB014, continue to launch products and further open up our businesses and platform and introduce different cooperative partners, thereby enriching our product pipeline and achieving diversified revenue sources. We will always adhere to our business philosophy of "Balance of Humanity and Technology". We are committed to developing new anti-tumour drug products with high technological barriers and economic value, providing a suitable and affordable product portfolio, and creating value for our shareholders and society".


Copyright 2020 ACN Newswire. All rights reserved. http://www.acnnewswire.com

Coronavirus Drug Development Update from NanoViricides, Inc.

SHELTON, CT / ACCESSWIRE, Mar 16, 2020 – (ACN Newswire) – NanoViricides, Inc. (NYSE American: NNVC) (the "Company") a leader in the development of highly effective antiviral therapies based on a novel nanomedicines platform, is providing an update on its efforts towards drug development for the current novel coronavirus SARS-CoV-2 that causes COVID-19.

The Company has completed the synthesis of a number of nanoviricide drug candidates for testing in just a few weeks after identification of virus-binding ligands. This was possible because the Company is boot-strapping its efforts on the basis of its inventory of novel custom chemicals in hand. Additionally, the polymer backbone was previously manufactured in multi-kilogram quantities. However, there can be no assurance that any of these candidates would show sufficient effectiveness and safety for human clinical development at this time.

The Company has acquired and expanded two different, low-threat circulating coronaviruses in its own BSL2 lab, and has already expanded them to enable testing of drug candidates. One of these coronaviruses, namely NL63, uses the same ACE2 receptor on human cells as SARS-CoV-2, although it does not cause a similar severe disease in humans.

If the Company's test candidates are effective against these cell culture studies against coronaviruses, then that would provide a strong rationale that they may be expected to be effective against the current SARS-CoV-2. Presently, the Company does not have any collaboration established for further testing of its drug candidates against SARS-CoV-2. The Company is working to establish such collaborations, however, there can be no assurance that we will be successful in establishing the necessary collaborations or that our drug candidates will succeed in further testing. In the past, the Company has established and worked on collaborations with the U.S. Center for Diseases Control and Prevention (CDC), as well as the U.S. Army Medical Research Institute of Infectious Diseases (USAMRIID).

The Company has already successfully developed antiviral drug testing assays based on cell culture infection of certain low-threat coronaviruses viruses in our own BSL2 certified virology lab. Development of an assay to test the effectiveness of a drug candidate is an important milestone in the drug development process. We have been able to complete this milestone in just a few weeks because of the extensive experience and expertise in medium throughput drug testing antiviral assays development of our Senior Virologist.

Testing of our drug candidates against these BSL2 coronavirus strains is expected to begin shortly in our BSL2 virology lab.

As of March 11th, SARS-CoV-2 has caused at least 800 confirmed cases in more than 30 states, and the virus has led to more than 26 deaths in the U.S., with area lockdowns, quarantines, and state of emergency being declared in several states. The entire country of Italy is under quarantine. Japan is also experiencing a severe outbreak. This COVID-19 outbreak has caused cases in at least 99 countries, with confirmed cases totaling over 110,000, of which 62,000 have already recovered, with deaths of over 3,800 patients, according to CBS news (https://www.cbsnews.com/live-updates/coronavirus-outbreak-death-toll-us-infections-latest-news-updates-2020-03-09/). The health risks associated with the virus rise significantly with age and many younger, otherwise healthy people who contract it might show only mild symptoms, if any. It appears that the outbreaks in China and in South Korea are now showing signs of being controlled, with new cases having decreased significantly.

The U.S. Government has approved $8.3 Billion for COVID-19 response that includes development of drugs as well as vaccines, patient care, containment, and education, in a holistic approach.

Although vaccine development has started very quickly against the SARS-CoV-2, an effective vaccine may take at least 12-18 months before it can be used to treat patients.

Viruses are known to escape antibody drugs and vaccines via mutations, although, in contrast, the NanoViricides platform technology enables development of a drug that a virus is unlikely to escape by mutation. This is because we develop biomimetics that are designed to interfere with the virus binding to its cognate cellular receptor, and are further capable of disabling the virus from binding to cells. Coronaviruses mutate less rapidly than other RNA viruses such as influenza and HIV.

One of the coronaviruses we are using for testing of our drug candidates uses the same ACE2 receptor as the current SARS-CoV-2 virus (aka nCoV-2019). However, this coronavirus does not cause similar, severe disease in humans. Another coronavirus we are testing against uses a different but somewhat related receptor (in terms of biophysics). Investigating against both of these strains would allow us to examine which of the test candidates have more broad-spectrum effectiveness. However, there can be no assurance that successful results against these forms of coronavirus will lead to similar results against nCoV-2019 aka SARS-CoV-2. Moreover, the path to typical or standard drug development of any pharmaceutical product is extremely lenghty and requires substantial capital. However, regulatory agencies in China created expedited processes to enable rapid clinical testing of exploratory drug candidates. Accelerated pathways were also developed for enabling anti-Ebola clinical drug candidates in the 2017-18 epidemic in DRC. Nevertheless, there can be no assurance that even successful results against SARS-CoV-2 will lead to successful clinical trials or a successful pharmaceutical product, which is true of every drug development effort against SARS-CoV-2 at present.

Previously, on January 30th, the Company confirmed that it is working on a drug to treat the SARS-Cov-2 virus infections. The Company said that it had successfully completed the important milestone of finding potential virus-binding ligands that mimic the ACE2 interaction with SARS-CoV (2002) using molecular modeling. The current coronavirus strain, namely SARS-CoV-2 is closely related to the 2002 SARS-CoV, and uses the same human cellular receptor. We have now completed the next two milestones, namely synthesis of test candidates, and development of anti-CoV assays for testing them.

About NanoViricides

NanoViricides, Inc. (www.nanoviricides.com) is a development stage company that is creating special purpose nanomaterials for antiviral therapy. The Company's novel nanoviricide(R) class of drug candidates are designed to specifically attack enveloped virus particles and to dismantle them. Our lead drug candidate is NV-HHV-101 with its first indication as dermal topical cream for the treatment of shingles rash. The Company is also developing drugs against a number of viral diseases including oral and genital Herpes, viral diseases of the eye including EKC and herpes keratitis, H1N1 swine flu, H5N1 bird flu, seasonal Influenza, HIV, Hepatitis C, Rabies, Dengue fever, and Ebola virus, among others.

The Company's technology is based on broad, exclusive, sub-licensable, field licenses to drugs developed in these areas from TheraCour Pharma, Inc. The Company does not currently have a license to the coronavirus field, however, TheraCour has not denied any licenses to the Company. The Company typically begins the licensing process only after demonstrating effectiveness of some candidates in optimization stage.

This press release contains forward-looking statements that reflect the Company's current expectation regarding future events. Actual events could differ materially and substantially from those projected herein and depend on a number of factors. Certain statements in this release, and other written or oral statements made by NanoViricides, Inc. are "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933 and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934. You should not place undue reliance on forward-looking statements since they involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors which are, in some cases, beyond the Company's control and which could, and likely will, materially affect actual results, levels of activity, performance or achievements. The Company assumes no obligation to publicly update or revise these forward-looking statements for any reason, or to update the reasons actual results could differ materially from those anticipated in these forward-looking statements, even if new information becomes available in the future.

Important factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from the company's expectations include, but are not limited to, those factors that are disclosed under the heading "Risk Factors" and elsewhere in documents filed by the company from time to time with the United States Securities and Exchange Commission and other regulatory authorities. Although it is not possible to predict or identify all such factors, they may include the following: demonstration and proof of principle in preclinical trials that a nanoviricide is safe and effective; successful development of our product candidates; our ability to seek and obtain regulatory approvals, including with respect to the indications we are seeking; the successful commercialization of our product candidates; and market acceptance of our products. FDA refers to US Food and Drug Administration. IND application refers to "Investigational New Drug" application. CMC refers to "Chemistry, Manufacture, and Controls".

Contact:
NanoViricides, Inc.
info@nanoviricides.com

Public Relations Contact:
MJ Clyburn
TraDigital IR
clyburn@tradigitalir.com

SOURCE: NanoViricides, Inc.

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