Qu Biologics Discovers Correlation Between Patient Genetics and Response to Immunotherapy in Inflammatory Bowel Disease

Vancouver, British Columbia – March 3, 2017 – Qu Biologics Inc., a biopharmaceutical company developing Site Specific Immunomodulators (SSIs) that aim to “reboot” the body’s innate immune system, reports positive genetic analyses of their recently completed Phase 2 clinical studies in Crohn’s Disease (CD) and Ulcerative Colitis (UC). These findings suggest that, for the first time in the field of inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), personalized medicine and the application of genetic testing may identify patients highly likely to respond and go into remission with treatment. The analyses identified common IBD-related genotypes with a high likelihood of response to SSI, suggesting that genetic testing may identify a large subset of CD patients (representing approximately 60% of the CD population) with a greater than 80% likelihood of responding to QBECO treatment, the large majority of which achieved remission on SSI treatment.

Dr. Hal Gunn, CEO of Qu Biologics, stated, “We are very excited about the possibility of identifying CD and UC patients highly likely to respond to SSI treatment, which would substantially de-risk future trials and be an important advance for patients who currently face the uncertainty of knowing whether current immunosuppressive IBD treatments, which can be associated with significant side effects, will work for them or not.” Dr. Shirin Kalyan, Qu’s Director of Scientific Innovation, added, “Unlike current IBD treatments that suppress immune function, we believe that SSIs, which restore innate immune function, treat the underlying cause of IBD. Consequently, unlike other treatments, we were able to identify IBD-related genotypes highly responsive to SSI therapy. It is exciting that the genotypes correlated with SSI response are highly relevant to SSIs’ mechanism of action.”

Based on the promising results of Qu Biologics’ recently completed Phase 2 study in CD, a follow-on Phase 2 study in moderate to severe CD is planned to confirm these findings. Study initiation is anticipated in late 2017.

Dr. Dermot McGovern, Director of Translational Medicine and Director of Precision Health, Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, a world expert in IBD genetics led the analysis and reported, “The most remarkable finding is that of the cumulative [genetic] associations with CD, UC, and all IBD for last documented response. … Furthermore, since the majority of these genetic variants are associated with other immune-mediated diseases, this suggests that this approach should be extended to other disease indications treated with SSI.”

If the genetic analysis results are confirmed in follow-on studies, Qu Biologics’ QBECO SSI has the potential to become first-line therapy for a majority of IBD patients and transformative for patients living with IBD, their families and healthcare providers.

For more information about Qu Biologics and the science behind SSIs, please visit www.qubiologics.com.

About Qu Biologics

Qu Biologics is a Vancouver-based private clinical stage biopharmaceutical company developing Site Specific Immunomodulators (SSI), a novel class of immunotherapies. SSIs are designed to stimulate an innate immune response in targeted organs or tissues to reverse the chronic inflammation underlying many conditions including cancer, inflammatory bowel disease, inflammatory lung disease and arthritis. SSIs are a broad platform technology being tested in multiple disease indications, including Health Canada approved clinical trials in lung cancer, Crohn’s disease and Ulcerative Colitis.

Backed by a prestigious group of scientific advisors and board members, Qu Biologics is led by a management team that includes co-founder and CEO Dr. Hal Gunn, a physician and expert on the body’s immune response to chronic disease; and Chief Medical Officer Dr. Simon Sutcliffe, former CEO of the BC Cancer Agency and a distinguished clinician, scientist and leader in cancer control in Canada and internationally.

For more information regarding this press release, contact:

Hal Gunn, MD

CEO

Qu Biologics Inc.

Phone: 604.734.1450

Email: media@qubiologics.com

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