Annidis Announces the Appointment of New President & CEO, Grant of Options and New Grid Promissory Note

OTTAWA, April 18, 2016 /CNW/ - Annidis Corporation (TSX Venture: RHA) ("Annidis" or the "Corporation"), is pleased to announce, subject to the final acceptance of the TSX Venture Exchange (the "TSXV"), the appointment of Mr. Cameron Bramwell as the new President and Chief Executive Officer of Annidis effective immediately.  In connection with Mr. Bramwell's appointment, Mr. Michael Crowley has resigned from his interim position as President and Chief Executive Officer of Annidis. Mr. Crowley will remain a director of the Corporation.

Mr. Bramwell brings over 25 years of experience in the technology industry to Annidis. He has expertise in the leadership of both software and hardware companies operating in business to business marketplaces.  In addition to his expertise as a marketing strategy consultant, Mr. Bramwell will draw from his recent experiences as Chief Marketing Officer of StarTech.com, as well as President & CEO of Adlib Software.  Mr. Bramwell has extensive experience piloting growth, in various stages of technology companies from inception through to maturity. In addition to his entrepreneurial and technology growth experience, Mr. Bramwell brings a wealth of international business, marketing strategy, and general management experience. 

Mr. Bramwell graduated from the University of Western Ontario in London, Ontario with a Bachelor of Science in Biology and a Masters of Business Administration from the Richard Ivey School of Business at University of Western Ontario where he graduated as an Ivey Scholar.

Chairman of Annidis, Gerald Slemko, stated that "Mr. Bramwell has worked with Annidis as a consultant for the past five months. His performance, track record, leadership, exceptional strategic marketing and execution abilities will be instrumental in advancing the market acceptance of the Annidis product offering."

Michael Crowley noted that "Mr. Bramwell will bring a wealth of expertise, including customer-focused product development and marketing strategy, combined with a demonstrated track record of success in creating bottom line performance through strong people leadership". He added, "through his recent involvement, Mr. Bramwell has developed a deep understanding of the strategic priorities of the business that will accelerate his tactical approach."

On his appointment, Mr. Bramwell states that "the underlying technology embodied by the Annidis RHA brings strong clinical utility to optometric practices. In recent months, the RHA's advantage in early detection of vision impacting eye disease has been proven by several comparative studies conducted in clinics across North America – this advantage will be a fundamental component of the next wave of our marketing initiatives as we advance the RHA into broader market acceptance."

Option Grant

Pursuant to Mr. Bramwell's retainer, the Corporation has granted an aggregate of 3,000,000 stock options to him pursuant to the Corporation's stock option plan.  The options expire 5 years from the issue date and have an exercise price of $0.05 per share.  The options are subject to vesting as follows: 1,500,000 options shall vest upon TSXV acceptance of Mr. Bramwell's appointment, and an additional 1,500,000 options vest on December 31, 2016.

New Grid Promissory Note

Subject to the approval of the TSXV, Annidis has completed the private placement of a $1,300,000 grid promissory note (the "Grid Note") with Yimai Technology International Corporation Limited an insider of the Corporation, (the "Lender") pursuant to which the Corporation may draw upon for general working capital purposes.  The Grid Note matures and becomes due and payable on the earlier of December 31, 2016 and the completion by the Corporation of an equity financing of not less than $5,000,000.  The Grid Note bears interest at rate of 10% per annum payable at maturity. The Corporation may prepay the outstanding principal amount of the Grid Note together with all accrued and unpaid interest, without penalty, at any time prior to the maturity date of the Grid Note.

The issuance of the Grid Note to the Lender constitutes a "related party transaction" as defined under TSXV Policy 5.9 and Multilateral Instrument 61-101 ("MI 61-101"). The Corporation is relying on the exemptions from the formal valuation and minority shareholder approval requirements as set out under sections 5.5(a) and 5.7(a) of MI 61-101 on the basis that the fair market value of the consideration for the Note will not exceed 25% of fair market value of the Corporation's market capitalization.  The Corporation is issuing this press release, and it is reasonable to do, less than 21 days prior to the closing of the issuance of the Note as the closing is not subject to any shareholder approval and the Corporation and the Lender were ready and able to close prior to such 21 day period and the Corporation is in need of the proceeds.

About Annidis Corporation

Annidis (TSX-V: RHA) has developed, manufactures and sells a patented imaging platform technology based on multi-spectral imaging. The current RHA is a retinal screening technology used by primary care professionals for early disease detection. The RHA is complementary to diagnostic imaging technologies and supports the timely identification, treatment and monitoring of a wide range of vision threatening diseases.

Neither TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.

Certain statements in this press release are forward looking statements and are prospective in nature, including statements with respect to the Corporation's intended use of the proceeds of the Note. Forward‐looking statements are not based on historical facts, but rather on current expectations and projections about future events, and are therefore subject to risks and uncertainties which could cause actual results to differ materially from the future results expressed or implied by the forward‐looking statements. These statements generally can be identified by the use of forward‐looking words such as "may", "should", "will", "could", "intend", "estimate", "plan", "anticipate", "expect", "believe" or "continue", or the negative thereof or similar variations. Such statements are qualified in their entirety by the inherent risks and uncertainties surrounding future expectations. Such forward‐looking statements should therefore be construed in light of such factors, and the Corporation is not under any obligation, and expressly disclaims any intention or obligation, to update or revise any forward‐looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.

SOURCE Annidis Corporation

Michael Crowley, Director, Annidis Corporation, 519-859-7439, [email protected]