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DEFENCE DELEGATES CITY OF HOPE TO INITIATE IND FILLING FOR ITS ACCUTOX^TM CANCER PROGRAM

Vancouver, BC, Canada, February 20^th 2023 - Defence Therapeutics Inc. (“Defence” or the “Company”), a Canadian biopharmaceutical company specialized in the development of immune-oncology vaccines and drug delivery technologies is pleased to announce that it signed an agreement with City of Hope National Medical Center and Beckman Research Institute of the City of Hope, one of the best and most renowned Cancer Institute Hospital in the US, to oversee its IND submission for a Phase I clinical trial of AccuTOX^TM in solid cancer.   

City of Hope is a worldwide renowned center dedicated to translating experimental treatments into cures for various illnesses. The center has more than 11,000 personnels, healthcare professionals and support staff all united to funnel new findings into clinical trials. City of Hope, one of the largest cancer research and treatment organizations in the United States, was recognized as the seventh “Best Hospital” for cancer in the nation according to U.S. News & World Report’s 2022-23 Best Hospitals: Specialty Ranking.

https://www.beckershospitalreview.com/oncology/10-best-hospitals-for-cancer-care-ranked-by-us-news.html

City of Hope will prepare the IND package and eFiling for Defence’s AccuTOX^TM cancer program, conduct the clinical and the biostatistical study design, review all preclinical and GLP studies to draft a study protocol and investigator’s brochure in addition to managing and overseeing all project-related objectives. 

Over the last 16 months, the Defence team efficiently completed all preclinical and GLP studies related to the AccuTOX^TM molecule as an injectable for solid tumors. The results showed that the drug can halt tumor growth and synergize with multiple immune-checkpoint inhibitors and it demonstrated as well that the AccuTOX^TM compound is safe and well tolerated using both rodents and canine animal models. 

"This is an important milestone and achievement to our objectives, and we feel very confident to have City of Hope with us in this FDA process for approval to begin a Phase I clinical trial in the US. With AccuTOX^TM potentially entering into clinical trial in the US sometime this year, Defence can definitely expect to use AccuTOX^TM as a therapy targeting multiple cancer tumors", says Mr. Plouffe, CEO and President of Defence.

About Defence:

Defence Therapeutics is a publicly-traded biotechnology company working on engineering the next generation vaccines and ADC products using its proprietary platform. The core of Defence Therapeutics platform is the ACCUM^TM technology, which enables precision delivery of vaccine antigens or ADCs in their intact form to target cells. As a result, increased efficacy and potency can be reached against catastrophic illness such as cancer and infectious diseases.

For further information:

Sebastien Plouffe, President, CEO and Director

P: (514) 947-2272

Splouffe@defencetherapeutics.com

www.defencetherapeutics.com

Cautionary Statement Regarding “Forward-Looking” Information

This release includes certain statements that may be deemed "forward-looking statements". All statements in this release, other than statements of historical facts, that address events or developments that the Company expects to occur, are forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements are statements that are not historical facts and are generally, but not always, identified by the words "expects", "plans", "anticipates", "believes", "intends", "estimates", "projects", "potential" and similar expressions, or that events or conditions "will", "would", "may", "could" or "should" occur. Although the Company believes the expectations expressed in such forward-looking statements are based on reasonable assumptions, such statements are not guarantees of future performance and actual results may differ materially from those in the forward-looking statements. Factors that could cause the actual results to differ materially from those in forward-looking statements include regulatory actions, market prices, and continued availability of capital and financing, and general economic, market or business conditions. Investors are cautioned that any such statements are not guarantees of future performance and actual results or developments may differ materially from those projected in the forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements are based on the beliefs, estimates and opinions of the Company's management on the date the statements are made. Except as required by applicable securities laws, the Company undertakes no obligation to update these forward-looking statements in the event that management's beliefs, estimates or opinions, or other factors, should change.

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