RenBio, Inc.

$2.9 Million Received From Wellcome for DNA-Based Delivery of Antiviral Antibodies for Zika and Influenza Prevention, Focusing on Preclinical Development of a Potent Anti-Zika Antibody and Optimizing Antibody Cocktail Delivery $749,000 Contract from the BARDA Flexible and Strategic Therapeutics (FASTx) Program for DNA-Based Delivery of Anti-Influenza Antibodies to Large Animals, With an Emphasis on Understanding Correlates of Species Translation NEW YORK, July 25, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- RenBio, a privately-held, preclinical biotechnology company leveraging its novel, proprietary MYO (Make Your Own) Technology™ platform to deliver next-generation antibody and protein medicines in the form of DNA therapeutics, today announced that it has received funding to evaluate DNA-based delivery of antiviral antibodies for Zika and influenza prevention. The funding includes a $2.9 million award from Wellcome () and a $749,000 contract award wholly supported by federal funds from the Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority (BARDA), part of the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS); Administration for Strategic Preparedness and Response within the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services under contract number 75A50124C00017 (). The BARDA award is part of the Flexible and Strategic Therapeutics (FASTx) Program, which seeks to advance a robust arsenal of flexible and adaptable therapeutic platforms to efficiently mitigate the impact of viral diseases and safeguard public health in the face of unpredictable viral threats. "These two awards are significant and boost the potential of our proprietary MYO Technology platform to deliver next-generation DNA medicines for infectious disease prevention," stated Rachel A. Liberatore, Ph.D., President and Chief Scientific Officer of RenBio. "The work funded by Wellcome will complement our previously announced grant as a sub-awardee of Vanderbilt University Medical Center, under the U.S. Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA)'s Pandemic Prevention Platform (P3) program. Together, in collaboration with our academic partners, we will complete IND-enabling preclinical activities to support the development of a potent anti-Zika antibody. In addition, we will evaluate the potential for the DNA-based delivery of cocktails of anti-influenza antibodies to increase the breadth of protection from disease. "Likewise, the ability to collaborate with BARDA, for the first time, is a milestone achievement for RenBio. The contract will allow us to address some of the technical hurdles to scaling our disruptive MYO Technology, and will help to expand our platform with respect to the range of antibodies that can be delivered, using the delivery of anti-influenza antibodies as proof-of-concept. Importantly, the delivery of a variety of antibodies targeting seasonal and highly pathogenic influenza viruses will address the need to respond rapidly to diverse viruses." About MYO Technology™ The MYO Technology™ platform, for intramuscular electroporation of plasmid DNA, is built to overcome the challenges inherent in typical antibody and protein therapeutic development, manufacturing, and delivery by providing patients with a DNA "bioblueprint" that empowers them to produce their own therapeutic antibodies or proteins. The technology utilizes muscle cells (myocytes), converting them into in vivo bioreactors to effectively produce the desired therapeutic within the patient's own body, potentially leading to radically new, longer lasting therapies, reducing the need for cold-chain storage, and resulting in shorter manufacturing times. About RenBio RenBio is a privately-held preclinical biotechnology company founded by Columbia University Professors David D. Ho, M.D. and Yaoxing Huang, Ph.D. The Company's novel, next-generation, proprietary nucleic acid therapeutics platform, called MYO (Make Your Own) Technology™, is designed to deliver DNA medicines encoding for antibody and protein therapeutics. The rapid plug-and-play features of the MYO Technology are intended to overcome antibody and protein therapeutic limitations in administration, duration of efficacy, dosing frequency, and cold-chain restrictions, and can rapidly flex to prevent or treat a broad range of diseases. To date, the company has raised $28.0 million in Seed and Series A financing and has received additional funding from the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA), the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, the New York State Biodefense Commercialization Fund, Wellcome, and the Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority (BARDA). For more information, visit: . Approved for Public Release by DARPA, Distribution Unlimited Contact: Paula Schwartz Rx Communications Group, LLC 917-633-7790 [email protected] SOURCE RenBio

$2.0 Million Grant from the New York State Biodefense Commercialization Fund Approximately $1.0 Million Received as Sub-Awardee of Vanderbilt University Under DARPA's Pandemic Prevention Platform (P3) Program NEW YORK, Oct. 12, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- RenBio, a privately-held, preclinical biotechnology company leveraging its novel, proprietary MYO (Make Your Own) Technology™ platform to deliver next-generation antibody and protein medicines in the form of DNA therapeutics, today announced that it has received a $2.0 million grant from the Empire State Development's (ESD) New York State Biodefense Commercialization Fund for its proposal, "Rapid Delivery of Monoclonal Antibodies for the Prevention of Future Infectious Disease Outbreaks," and approximately $1.0 million (with an option for an additional $3.6 million), as a sub-awardee of Vanderbilt University Medical Center, under the U.S. Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA)'s Pandemic Prevention Platform (P3) program. Created in 2021, the goal of the $40.0 million New York State Biodefense Commercialization Fund is to accelerate the development and commercialization of innovations targeting infectious disease threats while fostering new life science businesses and industry growth within the State. The goal of DARPA's P3 program, founded in 2017, is to support military readiness and global stability through the pursuit of novel methods to dramatically accelerate discovery, integration, preclinical testing, and manufacturing of medical countermeasures against infectious diseases. "The New York State Biodefense Commercialization Fund is an important source of capital for the industry, and we are proud to be one of just eight biotechnology companies selected as an inaugural awardee out of over 100 companies that applied," said Neal N. Padte, Ph.D., Chief Operating Officer and Chief Development Officer of RenBio. "Likewise, we are honored to collaborate with Vanderbilt University Medical Center as part of the DARPA P3 program, leveraging our disruptive MYO Technology to halt the spread of infectious disease outbreaks before they can escalate into pandemics. Rachel A. Liberatore, Ph.D., Chief Scientific Officer of RenBio added, "Frequent dosing regimens, specialized manufacturing, and inconvenient cold-chain requirements are limiting factors for the advancement and use of antibody and protein therapeutics, globally. The work funded by these grants will help us advance our platform validation and IND-enabling studies, and will provide further demonstration of the broad applicability of our MYO Technology platform for the delivery of next-generation medicines in the form of DNA therapeutics." Empire State Development President, CEO and Commissioner, Hope Knight, noted, "New York State's Biodefense Commercialization Fund highlights how we are strategically investing in life science R&D and manufacturing to fuel cutting-edge healthcare solutions that will both save lives and grow jobs. We are proud to support the development of RenBio's MYO Technology DNA therapeutics platform to help pinpoint and prevent serious infectious disease threats, while also growing industry innovation." "The rise of COVID-19 has served as a wake-up call for the need to rapidly respond to infectious disease outbreaks globally," said James E. Crowe, Jr., MD, Ann Scott Professor at Vanderbilt University Medical Center, Director of the Vanderbilt Vaccine Center, and Principal Investigator of the DARPA P3 award. "RenBio's platform has potential to deploy gene-encoded antibodies against future infectious disease outbreaks. We plan to use this approach as part of our DARPA P3 program in order to create an end-to-end pandemic response platform." Additional information regarding the New York State Biodefense Commercialization Fund and DARPA's P3 program can be found by visiting the following links: and . About MYO Technology™ The MYO Technology™ platform is built to overcome the challenges inherent in typical antibody and protein therapeutic development, manufacturing, and delivery, by providing patients with a DNA "bioblueprint" that empowers them to produce their own therapeutic antibodies or proteins. The technology utilizes muscle cells (myocytes), converting them into in vivo bioreactors to effectively produce the desired therapeutic within the patient's own body, potentially leading to radically new, longer lasting therapies, negating the need for cold-chain storage and resulting in shorter manufacturing times. About RenBio RenBio is a privately-held, preclinical biotechnology company founded by Columbia University Professors David D. Ho, M.D. and Yaoxing Huang, Ph.D. The Company's novel, next-generation, proprietary nucleic acid therapeutics platform, called MYO (Make Your Own) Technology™, is designed to deliver DNA medicines encoding for antibody and protein therapeutics. The rapid plug-and-play features of the MYO Technology are intended to overcome antibody and protein therapeutic limitations in administration, duration of efficacy, dosing frequency, and cold-chain restrictions, and can rapidly flex to prevent or treat a broad range of diseases. To date, the company has raised $28.0 million in Seed and Series A financing and has received non-dilutive funding from the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) and the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation. For more information, visit: . Contact: Paula Schwartz Rx Communications Group, LLC 917-322-2216 pschwartz@rxir.com

Igor Golovniov/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty I Drug development requires solid funding. Here’s who’s standing on higher ground this week with fresh investment dollars. Igor Golovniov/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images Drug development requires solid funding. Here’s who’s standing on higher ground this week with fresh investment dollars. Janux Therapeutics The life sciences IPO announcements keep rolling in, with Janux filing with hopes of hitting $100 million in its entrance onto the market. The San Diego-based company focuses on next-generation therapies built on its Tumor Activated T-Cell Engager (TRACTr) technology platform. T-cell engagers are a new class of immunotherapies that bind to a cancer cell and recruit the patient’s T-cells to attack the cancer cells. Janux plans to use the funds raised from the IPO to submit four Investigational New Drug (IND) applications to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in the first half of 2022. So far, the company has raised $326 million from investors since its 2017 launch. Numab Therapeutics Zurich-based Numab snagged about $110 million last week in a Series C round. Developing next-gen antibody immunotherapies, Numab’s pipeline targets cancer and inflammation. Funds will go into clinical development of lead program NM21-1480 for multiple cancer indications as well as advance a pipeline of multi-specific antibodies into clinical trials. The lead product balances potent anti-tumor immunity with a desirable safety pro targeting 4-1BB, PD-L1 and Human Serum Albumin simultaneously. HiberCell Focused on preventing cancer relapse and metastasis, HiberCell scooped up $97.4 million in fresh funds. A Series B round brought in $67.4 million, while the rest came from a debt facility with Hercules Capital. CEO Alan Rigby describes HiberCell’s strategy as “therapeutic reprogramming of the tumor immune microenvironment and modulation of innate adaptive stress responses that endow cancer cells with survival advantages.” Funds will be used to drive Imprime PGG into two new Phase II trials, as well as a first in-human Phase 1a of the company’s PERK inhibitor HC-5404. BioTheryX By degrading proteins, BioTheryX is creating life-saving cancer medicines. With this latest $92 million Series E , multiple molecular glues, PHM-based PROTACs and monovalent degraders, including BTX-1188 will be advanced toward clinical development. BioTheryX lead multi-kinase inhibitor for acute myeloid leukemia, myelodysplastic syndromes and solid tumors will also be advanced. The company’s targeted protein degradation platform utilizes the body’s own protein disposal system to remove disease-causing proteins, giving it a wide range of targets, including those previously considered “undruggable.” Duality Biologics New Jersey and China-based DualityBio raked in a $90 million Series B to accelerate its tech platform. Working in the fields of oncology and autoimmune diseases, the biotech has a pipeline of almost 10 antibodies and antibody drug conjugates. Launched in January of 2020, the company has already raised more than $120 million with big-name investors like WuXi Biologics investing in both the Series A and Series B rounds. Funds will be used to advance into preclinical research, clinical trials and pipeline expansion. Eliem Therapeutics Hailing from Seattle and Cambridge, CNS-focused Eliem closed on a $60 million Series B this week. Lead programs ETX-810 and ETX-155 and ready to advance through topline data across four indications in chronic pain, depressive disorders and epilepsy. Two preclinical programs will also be moving up the ladder. ETX-810 is a prodrug of the bioactive lipid palmitoylethanolamide for patients with diabetic peripheral neuropathic pain and lumbosacral radicular pain. Data on these two Phase 2a trials are anticipated in early 2022. ETX-155 is instantiating two Phase 2a trials for major depressive disorder and hormone-related depressive disorders. Rapid Medical Developing responsive, adjustable neurovascular devices, Rapid completed an oversubscribed, $50 million Series D to support the company’s commercial growth. Tigertriever recently scored FDA clearance for use in the treatment of ischemic stroke. A new class of clot retriever, intelligent control allows for better removal of blood clots for the 700,000 Americans affected by an ischemic event every year. The smallest version of the device is the only clot retriever able to remove clots from the more distant areas of the brain. Tigertriever 13 is not yet cleared by the FDA. Proceeds will expand commercial operations across the US and Europe and also be used to obtain regulatory approval in new areas like China. Phanes Therapeutics Advancing in immuno-oncology drug discovery, Phanes completed a $40 million Series B round. Using funds to advance preclinical programs into the clinic, the company will also expand research and clinical teams and advance its platforms – PACbody and ATACCbody. “This round of financing will accelerate our robust growth. We are excited about the opportunity of making a major impact in the immuno-oncology field,” said CEO Ming Wang. “At Phanes, our mission is to become a major source of innovation in the biopharma industry, and we are fully committed to delivering innovative therapies to patients.” RenBio Jumping aboard the COVID-treatment train, RenBio launched with $24 million to take its lead bispecific antibody into phase 1/2 trials by the end of the year. Licensed from Colombia University professor David Ho, the bispecific design can help avoid viral resistance. RenBio’s director of R&D said, “The preclinical activity shown thus far by RB-100 against many variants that have recently emerged represents a major differentiator of this molecule and provides hope that it will be a potentially far superior therapeutic option for COVID-19 going forward.” The funding will also build RenBio’s antibody-encoding delivery platform. Haya Taking matters to heart, Haya launched with $20 million in seed funds. Fibrotic scarring in heart tissue due to aging, disease, or damage–like after a heart attack–causes cardiac dysfunction and can be fatal. Using genome-wide expression profiling of long non-coding RNAs in mouse models of myocardial infarction, co-founder Samir Ounzain’s team identified the super-enhancer Wisper and other heart-specific therapeutic targets. Haya has its lead asset in large animal proof-of-concept studies, and it expects to be in clinical trials by the end of 2023.