Vancouver, British Columbia--(Newsfile Corp. - April 23, 2024) - Defence Therapeutics Inc. (CSE: DTC) (OTCQB: DTCFF) (FSE: DTC) ("Defence" or the "Company"), a Canadian biopharmaceutical company developing novel immune-oncology therapeutics and drug delivery technologies, is pleased to announce that its second-generation ARM^TM anti-cancer vaccine using AccuTOX^®, called ARM-002^TM, is therapeutically effective against pre-established melanoma when combined with the anti-PD-1 immune-checkpoint inhibitor.

Defence's application of reprogrammed mesenchymal stromal cells ("MSCs") represents a leading vaccination platform due to its ease in manufacturing and the therapeutic potency that this allogeneic off-the-shelf vaccine can provide. The use of AccuTOX^® to reprogram these MSCs relies mainly on the induction of protein aggregation. This process is known to induce the activation of the unfolded protein response, a cellular defense mechanism normally triggered to destroy any captured protein aggregates due to the toxicity and disturbance it causes to cell integrity.

"Defence's AccuTOX^® was initially known for its ability to kill cancer cells. In addition, our team found that at specific doses, AccuTOX^® forms protein aggregates when mixed with tumor lysate, a process that pushes MSCs to degrade these intracellular complexes resulting in potent antigen presentation," says Mr. Plouffe, Chief Executive Officer of Defence Therapeutics.

The original ARM^TM vaccine was potent against melanoma. The ARM-002^TM vaccine is even more potent, as it actually requires 10x less protein. This was confirmed both in vitro (using antigen cross-presentation assay) and in vivo where ARM-002^TM pulsed with 0.05 mg/ml of tumor lysate resulted in similar outcomes compared to ARM-002^TM generated using a dose of 0.5 mg/ml. In addition, the potency of the ARM-002^TM vaccine was comparable in both male and female mice, with no noticeable side effects detected in vaccinated animals. Defence is currently testing the ARM-002^TM vaccine on "hard-to-treat" cancers such as pancreatic, colon and ovarian cancers. These results will set the target indication for the Phase I trials, and it also shows how versatile and adaptable the ARM-002^TM anti-cancer vaccine is.

About Defence

Defence Therapeutics is a publicly-traded clinical-stage biotechnology company working on engineering the next generation vaccines and ADC products using its proprietary platform. The core of Defence Therapeutics platform is the ACCUM^® technology, which enables precision delivery of vaccine antigens or ADCs in their intact form to target cells. As a result, increased efficacy and potency can be reached against catastrophic illness such as cancer and infectious diseases.

For further information:
Sebastien Plouffe, President, CEO and Director
P: (514) 947-2272
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www.defencetherapeutics.com

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