Joint Venture to Develop Therapeutics Targeting Chronic Inflammatory Conditions

OTTAWA, Aug. 21, 2019 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Tetra Bio-Pharma Inc., (TBP.V) (TBPMF), a leader in drug discovery and development for cannabinoid-based therapeutics, today announced it has signed an agreement with Thorne Research Inc. and Onegevity Health LLC to form a joint venture, CB2 Therapeutics Inc., a company focused on leveraging the power of the endocannabinoid system (ECS) using innovative multi-omics and multi-targeted therapeutic options to become a leader in the management of chronic inflammatory conditions. CB2 Therapeutics will focus on developing compounds for chronic inflammatory conditions with high unmet needs or that are poorly served with existing therapies.



Under the terms of the agreement, all parties grant the joint venture an exclusive, fully-paid, royalty-free license to use their respective intellectual property for global product development and commercialization. The joint venture is targeting an initial raise of US$10,000,000 to commence its phase 2 clinical trials for irritable bowel syndrome and the commercialization of its dietary supplements for interstitial cystitis.

“We are thrilled to partner with Thorne and Onegevity to leverage our collective expertise to pursue development of safe, natural molecules that act on the ECS for unique applications as drugs and natural products,” said Guy Chamberland, Ph.D., Chief Executive Officer and Chief Scientific Officer of Tetra Bio-Pharma. “Onegevity Health is established as a scientific leader in its field, while Thorne is a main player in the field of evidence-based supplements. Combined with Tetra’s deep expertise in the functioning of the ECS system and existing clinical development infrastructure, we have created a formidable platform for targeting inflammatory conditions with unmet need.”

Paul Jacobson, Chief Executive Officer of Thorne Research and Co-Founder of Onegevity commented, “We look forward to this partnership with Tetra Bio-Pharma to merge our data insight capabilities with Tetra’s impressive clinical development experience to provide solutions to patients struggling with the management of chronic inflammatory conditions.”

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CB2 Therapeutics’ lead asset is a dietary supplement to support individuals who have functional bladder inflammation leading to urinary frequency and urgency in the absence of infection or other identifiable cause, which is expected to launch in 2020. CB2 Therapeutics also has an earlier-stage drug candidate for symptoms of Irritable Bowel Syndrome (IBS) and Inflammatory Bowel Disease (IBD).

About Thorne®

Thorne is a health and technology company that is disrupting prevention and wellness. By combining dietary and lifestyle recommendations with nutritional supplement intervention, Thorne is at the forefront of personalized health, with a mission to help consumers take control of their health and live a healthy life. Thorne provides at-home biomarker tests to bring the doctor to the consumer’s home. By leveraging its sophisticated analytical software, Thorne helps consumers uncover health insights and confidently take action to optimize health outcomes. Based on individual test results, Thorne’s technology and team can deliver a personalized plan on what to eat, how to exercise, and which Thorne supplements to take. Thorne is the only supplement manufacturer to collaborate with Mayo Clinic on wellness research and content. Thorne is currently collaborating on a series of clinical trials with Mayo Clinic, using tools of molecular assessment and nutrient-based supportive care. These efforts span across a range of applications, such as sports concussion, cognition in aging, Parkinson’s disease, ketogenic nutrition, cancer supportive care, irritable bowel syndrome, athletic performance, and others. Thorne is a proud partner of a number of U.S. National Teams, including U.S. Soccer, USA Hockey, and USA Triathlon. For more information visit thorne.com .

About Onegevity

Based in New York, Onegevity Health is the leading multi-omics based wellness company generating evidence-based actionable insights for lifestyle management. One of the world’s largest databases provides the ideal platform for consumer and pharma product development. Based on integrated analysis of longitudinal blood, genetics, and microbiome profiles, Onegevity provides a comprehensive molecular portrait and customized recommendations for an individual’s health. Based on its proprietary product development products, Onegevity is also dedicated to developing customized, clinically studied nutritional and pharmaceutical products to improve health outcomes.

About Tetra Bio-Pharma Inc.

Tetra Bio-Pharma Inc. (TBP.V) (TBPMF) is a biopharmaceutical leader in cannabinoid-based drug discovery and development with a Health Canada approved and FDA reviewed clinical program aimed at bringing novel prescription drugs and treatments to patients and their healthcare providers. Tetra Bio-Pharma has subsidiaries engaged in the development of an advanced and growing pipeline of Bio Pharmaceuticals, Natural Health and Veterinary Products containing cannabis and other medicinal plant-based elements. With patients at the core of its mission, Tetra Bio-Pharma is focused on providing rigorous scientific validation and safety data required for inclusion into the existing bio pharma industry by regulators, physicians and insurance companies. For more information visit: www.tetrabiopharma.com .

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

Forward-Looking Statements

Some statements in this release may contain forward-looking information, including the expected timing of completion of the Private Placement; the size of the Private Placement; the participation of Tetra directors, officers and employees in the Private Placement, the satisfaction of the conditions of closing of the Private Placement and on the anticipated timeframes. All statements, other than of historical fact, that address activities, events or developments that the Company believes, expects or anticipates will or may occur in the future (including, without limitation, statements regarding potential acquisitions and financings) are forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements are generally identifiable by use of the words "may", "will", "should", "continue", "expect", "anticipate", "estimate", "believe", "intend", "plan" or "project" or the negative of these words or other variations on these words or comparable terminology. Forward-looking statements are subject to a number of risks and uncertainties, many of which are beyond the Company's ability to control or predict, that may cause the actual results of the Company to differ materially from those discussed in the forward-looking statements. Factors that could cause actual results or events to differ materially from current expectations include, among other things, without limitation, the inability of the Company to obtain sufficient financing to execute the Company's business plan; competition; regulation and anticipated and unanticipated costs and delays, the success of the Company's research and development strategies, the applicability of the discoveries made therein, the successful and timely completion and uncertainties related to the regulatory process, the timing of clinical trials, the timing and outcomes of regulatory or intellectual property decisions and other risks disclosed in the Company's public disclosure record on file with the relevant securities regulatory authorities. Although the Company has attempted to identify important factors that could cause actual results or events to differ materially from those described in forward-looking statements, there may be other factors that cause results or events not to be as anticipated, estimated or intended. Readers should not place undue reliance on forward-looking statements. The forward-looking statements included in this news release are made as of the date of this news release and the Company does not undertake an obligation to publicly update such forward-looking statements to reflect new information, subsequent events or otherwise unless required by applicable securities legislation.

Investor Contact:

Bruce Mackle

LifeSci Advisors LLC

646-889-1200

TetraInvestors@LifeSciAdvisors.com

Media Contact:

Andrew Mielach

LifeSci Public Relations

646-876-5868

amielach@lifescipublicrelations.com

Canada:

Carol Levine

Energi PR

514-288-8500 ext. 226

carol.levine@energipr.com