Asep Inc. Signs Joint Venture Term Sheet with Leading Chinese Medical Diagnostic Company Sansure Biotech Inc. in Preparation for the Commercialization of the Sepset(ER) Sepsis Diagnostic Test in China
VANCOUVER, BC, Jan. 27, 2023 /CNW/ - Asep Medical Holdings Inc. ("Asep Inc." or the "Company") (CSE: ASEP) (OTCQB: SEPSF) is pleased to announce that it has signed a joint venture term sheet with a leading Chinese medical diagnostic company, Sansure Biotech Inc. (Sansure). The term sheet was signed on September 29, 2022. Both parties will continue to negotiate the specific collaboration terms toward the goal of entering into a definitive agreement in the coming months. The deal highlights the growing global interest in Asep Inc.'s early sepsis diagnostic, developed using artificial intelligence, which has proven highly accurate in clinical studies to date and is projected to save lives, significantly impact hospitals' bottom line, and reduce antibiotic usage in non-sepsis patients thus preventing antibiotic resistance.
The term sheet is a road map for a joint venture in preparation for the research, development, use, sublicensing and commercialization of SepsetER, Asep Inc.'s first-generation sepsis diagnostic kit for use in the Chinese market. As part of this agreement, Sansure will make a capital investment in the joint venture, and Asep Inc. will sublicence its SepsetER patent rights for the Chinese marketplace and receive a royalty when the test is marketed.
According to the US-based National Center for Biotechnology Information (pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov), in 2015, nearly 2 million people died in China from sepsis.1 The frequency of deaths in that country is unusually high (66.7 per 100,000 people), which is why Chinese biotechnology companies are interested in a more advanced diagnostic tool. A 2021 meta-analysis by the Department of Emergency Medicine, Tianjin Medical University General Hospital and published by BioMed Central Ltd. (biomedcentral.com) concluded that "the frequency and mortality of sepsis and septic shock in China were much higher than North America and Europe countries." 2
"Sansure is one of the largest companies selling PCR-based diagnostic assays, which is the technology utilized in our SepsetER test," stated Dr. Robert E. W. Hancock, Founder, CEO and Board Chair of Asep Inc. and developer of the SepsetER test. "This represents an endorsement of the potential of our assay and its importance to human medicine."
ABOUT SANSURE BIOTECH INC.
Sansure Biotech Inc. is a Chinese medical diagnostic company specializing in quantitatively detecting nucleic acids (DNA and RNA) and genomics. Established in 2008, Sansure is an integrated solution provider featuring innovative molecular diagnostics and gene technology. The company has over ten years of experience in specialized diagnostic reagents, nucleic acid diagnostic instruments, complete lab solutions and lab chain services. Sansure offers solutions for molecular diagnosis and is compatible with most polymerase chain reaction (PCR) detection instruments and lab environments. Headquartered in Changsha, the company has built a new industrial park in Shanghai to facilitate its growth. The company has branches and affiliates in nearly 20 cities, including Beijing, Guangzhou, Chongqing and Xi'an.
ABOUT ASEP MEDICAL HOLDINGS INC.
Asep Medical Inc. (asepmedical.com) is dedicated to addressing antibiotic failure by developing novel solutions for significant unmet medical needs. The Company is a consolidation of two existing private companies (Sepset Biosciences Inc. and ABT Innovations Inc.) that are both in the advanced development of both proprietary diagnostic tools, enabling the early and timely identification of severe sepsis as well as broad-spectrum therapeutic agents to address multidrug-resistant biofilm infections.
Sepset Biosciences Inc. (sepset.ca) is developing a diagnostic technology that involves a patient gene expression signature that predicts severe sepsis, one of the significant diseases leading to antibiotic failure, since antibiotics are the primary treatment for sepsis. Despite this, sepsis is responsible for nearly 20% of all deaths on the planet. The SepsetER test is a blood-based gene expression assay that is straightforward to implement, and results are rapidly obtained based on blood samples taken in the emergency room or intensive care unit. This proprietary diagnostic technology differs from current diagnostic tests in enabling diagnosis of severe sepsis within 60-90 minutes of initiating the test, while other diagnostics provide a diagnosis after ~15 hours but can be as long as five days. Asep Inc. believes this will enable critical early decisions to be made by physicians regarding appropriate therapies and reduce overall morbidity and mortality due to sepsis.
ABT Innovations Inc.'s (abtinnovations.ca) peptide technology covers a broad range of therapeutic applications, including bacterial biofilm infections (medical device infections, chronic infections, lung, bladder, wound, dental, skin, ear-nose and throat, sinusitis, orthopaedic, etc.), anti-inflammatories, anti-infective immune-modulators and vaccine adjuvants.
FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS —
This news release contains certain "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of such statements under applicable securities law. Forward-looking statements are frequently characterized by words such as "anticipates," "plan," "continue," "expect," "project," "intend," "believe," "anticipate," "estimate," "may," "will," "potential," "proposed," "positioned" and other similar words, or statements that certain events or conditions "may" or "will" occur. These statements include but are not limited to the successful clinical testing of our Sepsis diagnostic test and its intended filing for regulatory approval; the Company not receiving regulatory approval as planned or at all; the undertaking of pre-clinical studies on our lead therapeutic, with the expectation that this will lead to fast-track clinical trials; the timeframe for diagnosis of sepsis with the company's products; the potential opportunities for the generation of revenue; the therapeutic benefits of the company's products; and other statements regarding the company's proposed business plans. Various assumptions were used in drawing conclusions or making the predictions contained in the forward-looking statements throughout this news release. Forward-looking statements are based on the opinions and estimates of management at the date the statements are made and are subject to a variety of risks including the risk that the company's products may not perform as expected; that the company may not receive the requisite regulatory approvals or results of testing; the Company's testing of the products may not be successful and approvals may not be obtained in the estimated timelines or at all; the company may not be able to generate revenue from its products as expected or at all; the market for the company's products may not be as described in this news release; and various other risk factors identified in the Asep Medical Inc.'s prospectus dated November 9, 2021, and in the company's management discussion and analysis, available for review under the Company's profile at www.sedar.com and uncertainties and other factors that could cause actual events or results to differ materially from those projected in the forward-looking statements. Asep Medical Inc. is under no 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, except as expressly required by applicable law.
SOURCE ASEP Medical Holdings Inc.
Chris Dallin, Marketing Director, Asep Medical Holdings Inc., E. [email protected], T. +1 (604) 362.3654
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