biOasis Technologies Inc.
Suite 600-1385 West 8Th Ave., Vancouver BC V6H 3V9
Tel: (778) 383-3280
For immediate release TSX.V: BTI
Date: April 24th, 2014
biOasis Discovers the Keys to Transcend to Advance its Program for the Delivery of Therapeutics Across the Blood-Brain Barrier
This Represents A Major Finding For the Company, Its Partners, Potential Partners and Shareholders
APRIL 24th, 2014 – BIOASIS TECHNOLOGIES INC. (OTCQX:BIOAF; TSXV:BTI), a pioneering biopharmaceutical company focused on overcoming the limitations of therapeutic drug delivery across the blood-brain barrier, has identified a new family of peptides that conserve the brain shuttling properties of Transcend. Transcend is biOasis’ proprietary vector which has the function of shuttling molecules across the blood-brain barrier. In side-by-side comparisons, these new peptide vectors are more efficient than the native, full- size Transcend molecule at delivering cargo to the brain.
This new family of peptides is able to shuttle a variety of therapeutic and biologics into the brain and their transport is not limited by the size of the transported therapeutic or its composition. This family, the second generation of Transcend, offers multiple advantages compared to Transcend. For example, the costs of production are extremely low as the peptides can be easily synthesized and a wide variety of peptide-cargo conjugates with different applications to a range of diseases can be produced simply and predictably. The peptide vectors are particularly well-suited to coupling to small molecule chemotherapeutics and other drugs. Thus development of new drugs using these new shuttle vectors can be accomplished more quickly and at much lower costs. This new family of novel chemical entities will provide a strong patent position for the company and its current and future partners.
Professor Wilfred Jefferies, biOasis’ founding scientist states, “After several years of innovation based on Transcend, our team has identified a new class of small carriers that can shuttle drugs across the blood-brain barrier allowing them to enter and distribute in the brain. In preclinical animal models the peptide vector-conjugates have shown remarkable efficacy. The discovery and translation of these newcarrier entities into novel therapeutics provides a glimpse into the future treatment of Neurological Disorders.”
About Transcend
Transcend offers the creation of a new class of drugs that can cross the blood-brain barrier to address unmet medical needs in the treatment of brain metastatic cancer and other brain disorders, such as neurodegeneration and metabolic disease. The blood-brain barrier represents the single greatest challenge in treating diseases and other disorders within the brain. Diseases such as cancer are readily treated in many areas of the body, but drugs designed to treat cancer simply cannot penetrate the blood- brain barrier. The ability to more effectively permeate the blood-brain opens the door for the creation of new drugs designed to treat a wide variety of neurological diseases and disorders. Additionally, Transcend offers the potential to take existing clinically approved drugs that are near their end of patent life and extend them.
About biOasis
biOasis Technologies Inc. is a biopharmaceutical company headquartered in Vancouver, Canada. Based on Transcend, biOasis proprietary brain delivery platform, the company is focused on creating new drugs that can cross the blood-brain barrier to address unmet medical needs in the treatment of brain diseases such as neurodegeneration, metastatic cancer and metabolic diseases. biOasis trades on the OTCQX under the symbol BIOAF and on the TSX Venture Exchange under the symbol “BTI”. For more information about the company please visit www.bioasis.ca.
Forward Looking Statements
Certain statements in this press release contain forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 or forward-looking information under applicable Canadian securities legislation that may not be based on historical fact, including without limitation statements containing the words “believe”, “may”, “plan”, “will”, “estimate”, “continue”, “anticipate”, “intend”, “expect” and similar expressions. Such forward-looking statements or information involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that may cause our actual results, events or developments, or industry results, to be materially different from any future results, events or developments express or implied by such forward-looking statements or information. Such factors include, among others, our stage of development, lack of any product revenues, additional capital requirements, risk associated with the completion of clinical trials and obtaining regulatory approval to market our products, the ability to protect our intellectual property, dependence on collaborative partners and the prospects for negotiating additional corporate collaborations or licensing arrangements and their timing. Specifically, certain risks and uncertainties that could cause such actual events or results expressed or implied by such forward- looking statements and information to differ materially from any future events or results expressed or implied by such statements and information include, but are not limited to, the risks and uncertainties that: products that we develop may not succeed in preclinical or clinical trials, or future products in our targeted corporate objectives; our future operating results are uncertain and likely to fluctuate; we may not be able to raise additional capital; we may not be successful in establishing additional corporate collaborations or licensing arrangements; we may not be able to establish marketing and the costs of launching our products may be greater than anticipated; we have no experience in commercial manufacturing; we may face unknown risks related to intellectual property matters; we face increased competition from pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies; and other factors as described in detail in our filings with the Canadian securities regulatory authorities at www.sedar.com. Given these risks and uncertainties, you are cautioned not to place undue reliance on such forward-looking statements and information, which are qualified in their entirety by this cautionary statement. All forward-looking statements and information made herein are based on our current expectations and we undertake no obligation to revise or update such forward- looking statements and information to reflect subsequent events or circumstances, except as required by law.
On Behalf of the Board of Directors Rob Hutchison Chairman & CEO
Company Contact:
Rob Hutchison, Chairman & CEO
biOasis Technologies Inc.
Tel 778-383-3280
rob@bioasis.ca
Investor Relations Contact:
Ron Both, Senior Managing Director
Liolios Group, Inc.
Tel 949-574-3860
BTI@liolios.com
