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VANCOUVER, British Columbia and SEATTLE, April 23, 2019 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Pascal Biosciences Inc. (TSX.V:PAS) (“Pascal” or the “Company”), a drug discovery and development company, today provided a corporate update for the first quarter of 2019.

“We’ve made significant strides since the start of 2019, and these advancements position Pascal well for the future,” said Dr. Patrick Gray, CEO of Pascal. “We have advanced our cannabinoid program into clinical testing, our glioblastoma program has made excellent progress, and we have deepened our corporate leadership, all to support the continued growth of this Company.”

First quarter highlights include:

Glioblastoma Program – Advancement Towards Clinical Trials

Great progress has been made for Pascal’s clinical candidate for glioblastoma, PAS-403, as it advances toward clinical trials. An efficient manufacturing process has been developed. Studies continue to support the use of PAS-403 for testing in glioblastoma patients: the compound is active against human glioblastoma cells in culture, accumulates in the brain, has a good safety profile against other targets, and has synergistic activity with standard of care in an animal model. A clinical plan has been developed for testing PAS-403 in glioblastoma patients. 

Clinical – Testing of Cannabinoids in Human Subjects

In January, Pascal announced the initiation of testing of cannabinoids in human subjects for its immune stimulatory program in cancer. Pascal has extensively studied nearly 400 different cannabinoids in a variety of immune stimulatory assays and identified specific natural cannabinoids that have potent activity and a good safety profile. Pascal plans to extend these studies during 2019 with a potent cannabinoid to evaluate immune stimulatory activity.

Patents – Filing of international patent for further therapeutic indications

In January, Pascal filed an international patent to protect its discoveries around certain cannabinoids that increase the immunogenicity of cancer cells. This patent application is covered by the Patent Cooperation Treaty that includes 151 countries and covers all major pharmaceutical markets worldwide.

Partnering – Partnership with MITACS for multi-year research project

In March, Pascal announced a partnership with Mitacs for a multi-year cancer research project at the University of British Columbia.  Mitacs, a not-for-profit organization that fosters growth and innovation, will provide equal funding for research efforts at UBC that will directly support Pascal’s leading cancer development programs. The research project will be directed by Dr. Wilfred Jefferies at the Michael Smith Laboratories at UBC. Dr. Jefferies, the scientific founder of Pascal, was the first scientist to discover specific cannabinoids that can increase the immune recognition of both mouse and human cancer cells. The project will support the ongoing advancement of the PAS-393 program, which the Company believes may enhance the effectiveness of checkpoint inhibitors.

Leadership – Appointment of Carl Weissman

In April, Pascal announced that biotech industry veteran Carl Weissman has joined the Company in the role of acting President. Weissman most recently served as a biotech investment advisor for Lightspeed Venture Partners.  His prior experiences include serving as consulting CEO of OSS Healthcare, a joint venture of MPM Capital and Novartis Oncology and co-founder, CEO and chairman at Accelerator Corporation, as well as all 10 companies invested in and managed by Accelerator. He also previously served at MPM Capital, Centagenetix and Prolinx, Inc.

About Pascal Biosciences Inc.

Pascal Biosciences is a biotechnology company focused on advancing innovative approaches for the treatment of cancer including cannabinoid-based therapeutics and targeted therapies. The company’s leading portfolio comprises a small molecule therapeutic, PAS-403, that is advancing into clinical trials for the treatment of glioblastoma, and PAS-393, an immuno-stimulatory cannabinoid to be used in combination with checkpoint inhibitor therapy. In addition, Pascal Biosciences is developing a B-cell targeted antibody for acute lymphoblastic leukemia. For more information, visit www.pascalbiosciences.com.

Investors:
invest@pascalbiosciences.com

Media Contact:
Julie Rathbun
info@pascalbiosciences.com
Tel: 206-769-9219

DISCLAIMER
Certain statements in this press release contain forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 or forward-looking information under applicable Canadian securities legislation that may not be based on historical fact, including without limitation statements containing the words “believe”, “may”, “plan”, “will”, “estimate”, “continue”, “anticipate”, “intend”, “expect” and similar expressions. Such forward-looking statements or information involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that may cause our actual results, events or developments, or industry results, to be materially different from any future results, events or developments express or implied by such forward-looking statements or information. Such factors include, among others, our stage of development, lack of any product revenues, additional capital requirements, risk associated with the completion of clinical trials and obtaining regulatory approval to market our products, the ability to protect our intellectual property, dependence on collaborative partners and the prospects for negotiating additional corporate collaborations or licensing arrangements and their timing. Specifically, certain risks and uncertainties that could cause such actual events or results expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements and information to differ materially from any future events or results expressed or implied by such statements and information include, but are not limited to, the risks and uncertainties that: products that we develop may not succeed in preclinical or clinical trials, or future products in our targeted corporate objectives; our future operating results are uncertain and likely to fluctuate; we may not be able to raise additional capital; we may not be successful in establishing additional corporate collaborations or licensing arrangements; we may not be able to establish marketing and the costs of launching our products may be greater than anticipated; we have no experience in commercial manufacturing; we may face unknown risks related to intellectual property matters; we face increased competition from pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies; and other factors as described in detail in our filings with the Canadian securities regulatory authorities at www.sedar.com. Given these risks and uncertainties, you are cautioned not to place undue reliance on such forward-looking statements and information, which are qualified in their entirety by this cautionary statement. All forward-looking statements and information made herein are based on our current expectations and we undertake no obligation to revise or update such forward- looking statements and information to reflect subsequent events or circumstances, except as required by law.

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