Hong Kong, 30 October 2018
 
Essex Bio-Technology Limited (“EssexBio” or the “Group” –Stock Code:1061) is pleased to announce that Essex Bio-Investment, a wholly-owned subsidiary of the Group, and DB Therapeutics (“DBT”), an early stage medical device company in Binghamton, USA, entered into the Convertible Notes Purchase Agreement and License Agreement. Both agreements provide the Group an opportunity to have a significant interest in DBT’s radioactive bandages for the treatment of non-melanoma skin cancer (NMSC), its core product, Holmium-166(¹⁶⁶ Ho) based radioactive bandages (Curiwrap) (the “Products”) and future products.
 
The investment is in line with the Group’s strategic development plan in dermatology and oncology.
 
Convertible Notes Purchase Agreement (“CN Purchase Agreement”)

Pursuant to the CN Purchase Agreement, Essex Bio-Investment conditionally agree to subscribe for, and DBT conditionally agreed to issue, a series of the convertible notes in an aggregate principal amount not to exceed US$4,500,000 (equivalent to approximately HK$35,278,200), with each tranche bearing an interest rate of 5% per annum and maturing on 31 July 2022. Assuming convertible notes in the principal amount of US$4,500,000 are issued and the conversion rights are exercised in full, it shall represent 45% of the DBT stock on a fully diluted basis.
 
License Agreement

Essex Bio-Investment will be granted an exclusive license to market, sell and distribute the Products (the “Licensed Products”) in the Territory (including the Greater China, Australia, New Zealand, Korean and Japan) and use the Technology in connection thereto, subject to payment of royalty levied on net sales of the Licensed Products in the Territory.
 
"Our investment into DB Therapeutics is our first foray into nuclear medicine, complementing our dermatology and oncology research activities", said Malcolm Ngiam, President of Essex Bio- Investment. “Essex Bio-Technology looks forward to contributing to the pre-clinical research at DB Therapeutics, towards a clinical stage product."
 
Anthony J. Di Pasqua, President and Co-founder of DB Therapeutics, said: "DB Therapeutics is excited to work with Essex Bio-Technology to continue developing our ideas and help translate them into the clinic, where they can have a meaningful impact on global health."
 
About DB Therapeutics

DB Therapeutics, Inc. is an early stage medical device company focusing on the development of radioactive bandages for the treatment of non-melanoma skin cancer (NMSC), such as basal cell carcinoma (BCC), squamous cell carcinoma (SCC), cutaneous lymphoma, Kaposi sarcoma, Merkel cell carcinoma, etc. Its core product, Holmium-166(¹⁶⁶ Ho) based radioactive bandages (Curiwrap), provides a convenient and efficient way to treat localized skin cancer patients, as compared to surgical interventions, external beam radiation therapy and electronic brachytherapy. Curiwrap can be used in a small, clinic-based setting and will be available in a ready-to-use format for physicians.
 
About Radiotherapy Market

The global radiotherapy market is expected to reach 9.3 billion USD by 2024, at a CAGR of 7.5% in the forecast period 2017 to 2024 ⁱ . Among which, North America is the most important area, ruling the international radiotherapy device market by means of profits in the past few years, and Western Europe comes second. For nations in some of the emerging markets, the market size is tiny because of the scarcities of apparatus and critical equipment proficiency of supplying greater accuracy conformal treatments. However, with the aging populations and increasing number of cancer patients, as well as the increasing supply of cancer treatment expertise, especially in China and Japan, the corresponding market size will witness an accelerated growth in the years to come.
 
About Skin Cancer

Skin Cancer is the most common form of cancer in the Caucasian population. Approximately 40% to 50% of Americans of age 65 or greater will have either BCC or SCC at least once. Exposure to ultraviolet (UV) radiation from the sun is a leading cause of NMSC (approximately 90% of the cases). Tanning is another major cause of the skin cancer and more than 419,000 cases are linked to indoor in the USⁱⁱ.
 
The skin cancers are largely categorised in two types: melanoma and non-melanoma. The melanomas are more aggressive and comprise of about 1% of all skin cancers but causes the vast majority of deaths. Non- melanoma Skin Cancers (NMSCs) are a more common type of cancer and are mainly of two types: basal cell carcinoma (BCC) and squamous cell carcinoma (SCC). Approximately 5.4 million cases of NMSC are treated in the US annuallyⁱⁱⁱ. The annual direct cost of treating skin cancers in the U.S. is estimated at $8.1 billion, approximately $4.8 billion for NMSC and $3.3 billion for melanoma^iv.Basel cell carcinoma (BCC) is the most common form of NMSC. An estimated 4.3 million cases of BCC are diagnosed in the U.S. each year^v, resulting in more than 3,000 deaths^vi. Meanwhile, BCC is the most common cancer in Caucasians, Hispanics, Chinese Asians and the Japanese^vii.
 
About Curiwrap

As a ¹⁶⁶Ho based radioactive bandage, Curiwrap can be applied externally on the skin for radiation therapy, which offers a convenient way to treat patients with radiation and does not require any sophisticated instrumentation. It also allows for the treatment of multiple skin lesions at the same time in an outpatient setting and reduces the overall cost of the treatment. Unlike injectable radioactive agents, these bandages are safe and have less toxicity concerns.

The bandages are made with non-radioactive Ho-containing garnet (HoIG) nanoparticles, incorporated in polyacrylonitrile fibers and electrospun to form free-standing nonwoven, non-radioactive fiber mats. These fiber mats can be cut into desired sizes or standard pre-determined sizes and made radioactive by neutron-activation of Ho to ¹⁶⁶Ho.
 
¹⁶⁶Ho-based radioactive bandages were tested in a skin cancer animal model and found to significantly reduce tumor growth. The company plans to further test these bandages in animals for safety and human clinical trials for safety and efficacy. A patent for the technology underlined in Curiwrap has been filed in January 2015.