VANCOUVER, BC--(Marketwired - March 17, 2016) - biOasis Technologies Inc. (TSX VENTURE: BTI) (OTCQB: BIOAF) (the "Company") on Saturday, March 19, 2016 at 11:45am, will present the data from the biOasis sponsored Brains for Brain ("B4B") lysosomal storage disease ("LSD") knockout mouse study performed by Dr. Maurizio Scarpa and Dr. Rosella Tomanin at Dr. Scarpa's laboratories in Padova, Italy. Dr. Scarpa is a world leading clinical expert in lysosomal storage diseases.
The study, which was started in late 2014, was focused on Hunter Syndrome, or mucopolysaccharidosis II (MPS II), a serious genetic disorder that primarily affects males. Symptoms of the disease are usually evident in children between the ages of 2 to 4 years.
With Hunter Syndrome, there is a build-up of glycosaminoglycans ("GAGs") in cells throughout the body due to the absence or improper functioning of an enzyme, iduronate-2-sulfatase ("I2S"). The buildup of GAG interferes with the way certain cells and organs in the body function and leads to a number of serious symptoms, some of which are significantly evident in the brain.
The treatment for Hunter Syndrome is enzyme replacement therapy ("ERT"), the administration of the I2S enzyme. However, I2S cannot normally cross the blood-brain barrier, leaving the brain untreated.
The mouse model used in the B4B study, developed by Dr. Scarpa, was bred with the inability to produce the I2S enzyme. The study was key to determining whether biOasis Transcendpep could deliver IS2 to the brain and could clear or decrease the number of lysosomal storage vacuoles from the cells within the brain, a key measurement in the successful treatment of Hunter Syndrome within the brain.
The study showed that the Transcendpep fusion protein, MTfp-I2S (MTfp-Iduronate-2-sulfatase), crossed the blood-brain barrier, reached therapeutic levels in the CNS and significantly decreased the number of lysosomal storage vacuoles in the cytoplasm of brain cells.
"biOasis has seen some wonderful advancements within its internal programs and although this study was longer than expected, the results were worth the wait," said Rob Hutchison, CEO of biOasis Technologies Inc. "Rare diseases like LSD's are a strong focus for biOasis due to their huge unmet medical need and the speed with which LSD therapeutics can be brought to market."
"The results of this study have encouraged both Dr. Scarpa and our biOasis team to expedite the advancement of this program towards a clinical assessment of the ability to use Transcendpep in humans for the delivery of I2S to the brain. We are confident that this presentation will be very well received by industry figures attending the Brains for Brain 10th Annual Workshop and Open Conference in Madrid, Spain."
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 BBB to address unmet medical needs in the treatment of brain diseases such as neurodegeneration, metastatic cancer and metabolic diseases. biOasis trades on the OTCQB 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
"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"