ProMIS Neurosciences Independent Director Anthony J. Giovinazzo Recognized with Inaugural Bloom Burton Award for Innovation in Canadian Healthcare

TSX: PMN

TORONTO and CAMBRIDGE, MA, Sept. 21, 2017 /CNW/ - ProMIS Neurosciences, Inc., a company focused on the discovery and development of precision treatments for neurodegenerative diseases, today announced that Independent Director Anthony J. Giovinazzo was recently bestowed the inaugural Bloom Burton Award for his extraordinary impact on Canada's innovative healthcare industry.

Mr. Giovinazzo was recognized for pioneering the development of Cynapsus Therapeutics Inc. and its therapy for managing debilitating OFF episodes associated with Parkinson's disease. Under Mr. Giovinazzo's leadership, Cynapsus was acquired by Sunovion Pharmaceuticals Inc. in a 2016 transaction that was much-heralded among the Canadian biotechnology industry.  

"I am deeply honored to be recognized with the inaugural Bloom Burton Award for my impact on the Canadian healthcare industry," said Mr. Giovinazzo. "The Cynapsus exit to Sunovion was a seminal transaction in Canada and continues to represent the innovative spirit of our life sciences community. I sincerely thank Brian Bloom and Jolyon Burton for their leadership in this field and the esteemed independent judges panel for such a distinguished honor."

The Bloom Burton Award is overseen by Bloom Burton & Co., Canada's leading healthcare-specialized investment banking firm. The annual award honors an individual scientist, inventor, executive, entrepreneur, industry leader, or policy maker who made the greatest impact in Canada's innovative healthcare industry. Nominees are accepted from the biotechnology, pharmaceutical, medical device, diagnostic/imaging, research instrumentation, consumer health, healthcare services or healthcare IT sectors, and from all therapeutic indications and stages of development.

"We congratulate Anthony for receiving such recognition for his work. We also look forward  to his continuing support as a member of the ProMIS Board of Directors as we fulfill our mission to discover and development best-in-class precision therapeutics for the treatment of neurodegenerative diseases," stated ProMIS Executive Chairman Eugene Williams.

The Bloom Burton Award finalists and winner are chosen by an esteemed panel of judges, all of whom are respected international leaders in healthcare investment, entrepreneurship and journalism. The panel includes: Karen Bernstein, Co-Founder and Chairman, BioCentury Inc.; Terrence Connolly, Executive Director, Global Alliances and Business Development, Celgene Corporation; Carl Gordon, Partner and Co-Head of Global Private Equity, OrbiMed Advisors; Andrew Hack, Chief Financial Officer, Editas Medicine; Oleg Nodelman, Founder and Managing Director, EcoR1 Capital; Melinda Richter, Head of Johnson & Johnson Innovation, JLABS; and Avik Roy, Opinion Editor, Forbes; President, The Foundation for Research and Equal Opportunity.

On October 21, 2016, Sunovion Pharmaceuticals Inc. completed the acquisition of Cynapsus Therapeutics. Sunovion is an indirect, wholly owned subsidiary of Sumitomo Dainippon Pharma Co., Ltd.

About ProMIS Neurosciences, Inc.

ProMIS Neurosciences is a Toronto Stock Exchange (TSX) listed biotechnology company (trading symbol: PMN.TO), headquartered in Toronto, Ontario, with offices in Cambridge, Massachusetts. The Company's mission is to discover and develop precision medicine therapeutics for effective treatment of neurodegenerative diseases, in particular Alzheimer's disease and amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS). The Company's proprietary target discovery engine is based on the use of two complementary techniques. The Company applies its thermodynamic, computational discovery platform—ProMIS™ and Collective Coordinates — to predict novel targets, known as Disease Specific Epitopes (DSEs) on the molecular surface of misfolded proteins. Using this unique precision medicine approach, the Company is developing novel antibody therapeutics and specific companion diagnostics for Alzheimer's disease and ALS. The Company owns a portfolio of therapeutic and diagnostic patents relating to misfolded SOD1 in ALS and currently has a preclinical monoclonal antibody therapeutic against this target.

The TSX has not reviewed and does not accept responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release. This information release contains certain forward-looking information, including about the timing and completion of the Offering, the receipt of TSX approval and the expected use of proceeds from the Offering. Such information involves known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that may cause actual results, performance or achievements to be materially different from those implied by statements herein, and therefore these statements should not be read as guarantees of future performance or results. All forward-looking statements are based on the Company's current beliefs as well as assumptions made by and information currently available to it as well as other factors. Readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements, which speak only as of the date of this press release. Due to risks and uncertainties, including the risks and uncertainties identified by the Company in its public securities filings, actual events may differ materially from current expectations. The Company disclaims any intention or obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.

For further information please consult the Company's website at: www.promisneurosciences.com 

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SOURCE ProMIS Neurosciences Inc.

For media inquiries, please contact: RussoPartners/LLC, [email protected], Tel. [phone]; David Schull, RussoPartners/LLC, [email protected], Tel. [phone]; For Investor Relations please contact: Alpine Equity Advisors, Nicholas Rigopulos, President, 617-901-0785, [email protected]; Dr. Elliot Goldstein, President and Chief Executive Officer, ProMIS Neurosciences Inc., Tel. [phone], [email protected]