Advanced Proteome Therapeutics Announces Anti-Cancer R&D Gathers Momentum

VANCOUVER, BC--(Marketwired - January 31, 2018) - Advanced Proteome Therapeutics Corporation ("APC" or the "Company") (TSX VENTURE: APC) (FRANKFURT: 0E8) announces that during the 2017 calendar year, it has witnessed very significant progress in APC's scientific program that has bolstered opportunities for achieving commercial success. APC realized critical milestones to enable the advancement of its technology to the next level of development, where it has created a high profile showcase for its conjugating technology and has markedly strengthened its competitive edge.

Despite the great promise of antibody-drug conjugates (ADC) with FDA approval of two ADCs, the blockbuster status of ADCs has been limited by a variety of constraints, not the least of which are heterogeneous mixtures of conjugated products which can negatively impact efficacy and limit therapeutic index. To meet these challenges, in 2017, APC aggressively demonstrated core principles of its antibody technology: (1) site-selective conjugation to improve product homogeneity; (2) surface attachment for chemically-stable conjugates to address the industry's product instability issues; (3) attachment of drug payloads to a conserved site mediated by what is arguably a "universal antibody connector", to which virtually any drug can be attached, streamlining the overall production process.

Whereas most companies in the ADC space utilize labor-intensive technology involving molecular biology and genetic engineering and need to customize their agents for each antigen target, ADC has standardized technology to rapidly facilitate discovery and development, which should position the Company to leapfrog beyond the competition.

These key accomplishments have been manifested in the context of APC's partnerships with (a) Heidelberg Pharma (HDP) involving amanitin, a unique toxin payload that APC has site-selectively linked to a target antibody of mutual interest (Marketwired-January 8, 2018), and (b) the Toronto Recombinant Antibody Centre (TRAC) at the University of Toronto (UT), from which APC has acquired an option to license validated antibody candidates, converted to ADCs by the Company, as potential treatments for cancer (Marketwired-October 19, 2016). In the creation of therapeutically-viable drug conjugates, conjugation (linker) technology plays a pivotal role in defining the properties of the ADC. Indeed, the recent demonstration of superior affinity and potency of an Advanced Proteome ADC, pitted against an industry gold standard in the killing of cancer cell lines, provides a compelling rationale for further development.

As we gather momentum and follow through with next steps in 2018, the Company is poised to obtain several key results from the testing of novel ADCs in animal studies. Technology transfer and scale-up of the conjugation technology by our contractual partners for animal testing of several therapeutically validated antibodies and their evaluation as potential ADC products have begun at the National Research Council of Canada (News releases-July18, 2017; November 20, 2017. These studies bear on the exercise of the aforementioned option). As well, scale-up and animal testing of antibody-amanitin conjugates and their evaluation as potential ADC products are in the offing. Conversations are ongoing with additional academic and commercial partners looking to utilize and evaluate our chemistry technology.

In 2017, it has been particularly gratifying for the Company to establish R&D operations physically in Canada, after being selected as a resident company at JLABS@Toronto. This initiative gives the Company the opportunity for significant partnering and financial incentives on the Canadian scene, which it has successfully attained and continues to vigorously pursue, while synergizing with continuing efforts in the Boston location.

ABOUT THE COMPANY:

Advanced Proteome Therapeutics Corporation is developing a proprietary technology to directly target cancerous tumors and avoid destroying normal cells. This type of agent is capable of greater potency, higher specificity, and lower toxicity than other therapies that can also attack healthy cells. Advanced Proteome is working to streamline the process by which these agents are prepared, which to date, has been extremely cumbersome, limiting their potential. www.advancedproteome.com

Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.

This communication contains certain forward-looking statements relating to the Company's business, which can be identified by the use of forward-looking terminology such as "estimates", "believes", "expects", "may", "will", "should", "future", "potential" or similar expressions or by a general discussion of the Company's strategies, plans or intentions. Such forward-looking statements involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors, which may cause our actual results of operations, financial position, earnings, achievements, or industry results, to be materially different from any future results, earnings or achievements expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. Given these uncertainties, prospective investors and partners are cautioned not to place undue reliance on such forward-looking statements. We disclaim any obligation to update any such forward-looking statements to reflect future events or developments.