TORONTO, April 03, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- QuestCap Inc. (“QuestCap” or the “Company”) (CSE: QSC; OTCMKTS: COPRF; FRA: 34C1) is pleased to announce that the Company has entered into a binding letter of intent (the “LOI”) with Amino Therapeutics, Inc. (“Amino”) to acquire 40% of the issued and outstanding shares of Amino. QuestCap cautions that this is still early stage research and development and is not making any express or implied claims that it has the ability to treat the SARS-CoV-2 virus at this time.
Amino has obtained exclusive rights to leverage their parent company’s, Exponential Genomics Inc. (“Xenomics”) XenoArray platform to engineer a potential treatment for COVID-19 (the “Treatment”) based on peptide protease inhibitors. Being developed to engineer to genetically modify multiple microbial strains to produce thousands of peptide-based protease inhibitors in parallel, the XenoArray platform may empower Amino Therapeutics with a unique advantage to potentially design an effective treatment for COVID-19.
The terms of the LOI are as follows:
- Amino will sell a 40% equity interest to QuestCap;
- QuestCap will inject $1 million USD of cash on the closing date, $500,000 USD 60 days from the closing date and $500,000 USD 120 days from the closing date;
- QuestCap will issue 15 million common shares on the closing date;
- QuestCap will receive a warrant to purchase an additional 9% equity in Amino for $2 million with an expiry of 24 months from the closing date;
- QuestCap will receive a warrant to acquire up to a 9.9% equity in Amino’s parent company, Exponential Genomics Inc., for $2 million USD for a period of 12 months from the closing date.
The closing of the transaction to acquire a 40% equity interest in Amino is subject to the parties negotiating a definitive agreement.
Stan Bharti, QuestCap’s Co-Chairman, stated: “The global COVID-19 pandemic caused by the SARS-CoV-2 virus is an emergency situation that requires immediate intervention. By leveraging the XenoArray technology at Exponential Genomics, Amino Therapeutics is well positioned to potentially develop the next generation antiviral therapeutic candidates.”
David Preiner, Amino’s President and Chief Executive Officer, stated: “Engineering of next generation therapeutics to potentially combat the current COVID-19 outbreak normally requires a long process of research and development that is typically associate with long development timelines and high development costs, which in this emergency could have catastrophic consequences. At Amino, we are working on ways to accelerate the drug development timeline for novel biologics to start regulatory processes, demonstrate patient safety, and bring patient’s treatments.”
Amino’s current stage of development for the potential Treatment is as follows:
- Amino has started to perform research on the SARS-CoV-2 virus based on prior published research;
- The cash investment will be used for further research and development related to the potential Treatment. Amino’s parent company, Xenomics, is a bio-engineering company that has received $1.2 million in revenue from a related party to date for gene editing research which has been applied in this research and development;
- Xenomics currently has the necessary equipment and research and development team that will be responsible for conducting research related to the potential Treatment;
- Xenomics has successfully filed two previous patents for bio-synthesis which includes the creation of small molecules and enzymes;
- Due to the recent pandemic Amino has just began the research based on prior published research;
- No clinical testing has yet been performed related to the potential Treatment; and
- Amino is not primarily relying on third parties to perform the research and development.
About QuestCap Inc.
QuestCap is an investment company that seeks to enhance shareholder value over the long term by opportunistically making various investments that may include, without limitation, the acquisition of equity, debt or other securities of publicly traded or private companies or other entities, financing in exchange for pre-determined royalties or distributions and the acquisition of all or part of one or more businesses, portfolios or other assets.
About Exponential Genomics, Inc. (Xenomics)
Exponential Genomics Inc. (Xenomics) has built a team of scientists trained at Harvard and MIT that utilize genetically modified microorganisms to manufacture compounds identical to those found in nature. Our core XenoArray technology is a novel gene-editing technique designed to perform over 400 years of CRISPR in 8 weeks. Experts on the Xenomics’ leadership team includes:
David Preiner, Founder & CEO
John Harrold, PhD, Co-Founder & COO
Sophie Ni, PhD, Co-Founder & CPO
Ryan Hubbard, MD, Co-Founder & CMO
Dan Kriznic, CPA, CA, Co-Founder & CFO
Natasha Collins, CPA, CA, VP Finance
Olivier Roussy Newton, VP Business Development
David Wood, PhD LLB, Advisor
About Amino Therapeutics, Inc.
Amino is working to create the next generation of novel cell penetrating peptides to spearhead the development of biologic pharmaceuticals focusing on intracellular mechanisms of action. Amino’s current leading project is to develop broad spectrum protease inhibitors as a potential therapeutic treatment for patients with COVID-19.
For additional information, please contact:
G Scott Moore
Co-Chairman
SMoore@Questcapinc.com
1-416-861-5903
Media contact:
Wynn Theriault
Thirty Dash Communications
34 King St East #400
Toronto M5C 2X8
416.710.3370
Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-looking Information
This press release contains "forward-looking information" within the meaning of applicable Canadian securities legislation. Forward-looking information includes, but is not limited to, statements with respect to the acquisition of an equity interest in Amino; and the potential of any “COVID-19 Treatment. Generally, forward-looking information can be identified by the use of forward-looking terminology such as "plans", "expects" or "does not expect", "is expected", "budget", "scheduled", "estimates", "forecasts", "intends", "anticipates" or "does not anticipate", or "believes", or variations of such words and phrases or state that certain actions, events or results "may", "could", "would", "might" or "will be taken", "occur" or "be achieved". Forward-looking information is subject to known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that may cause the actual results, level of activity, performance or achievements of the Company, as the case may be, to be materially different from those expressed or implied by such forward-looking information. Although the Company has attempted to identify important factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those contained in forward-looking information, there may be other factors that cause results not to be as anticipated, estimated or intended. There can be no assurance that such information will prove to be accurate, as actual results and future events could differ materially from those anticipated in such statements. Accordingly, readers should not place undue reliance on forward-looking information. The Company does not undertake to update any forward-looking information, except in accordance with applicable securities laws.
NEITHER THE CANADIAN SECURITIES EXCHANGE NOR ITS REGULATION SERVICES PROVIDER HAS REVIEWED OR ACCEPTS RESPONSIBILITY FOR THE ADEQUACY OR ACCURACY OF THIS RELEASE.
