Sernova Welcomes Dr. Bernd Muehlenweg as Evotec’s Nominee for its Board of Directors

-          Dr. Daniel Mahony to step down to pursue new commitment

LONDON, Ontario; BOSTON, Massachusetts – April 22, 2024 – Sernova Corp. (TSX:SVA) (OTCQB:SEOVF) (FSE/XETRA:PSH), a clinical-stage biotechnology company focused on the development of regenerative medicine cell therapies for treatment of chronic diseases, announces today that Dr. Bernd Muehlenweg, Senior Vice President of Global Business Development at Evotec SE (Frankfurt Stock Exchange: EVT, MDAX/TecDAX, ISIN: DE0005664809; NASDAQ: EVO), has been appointed to its Board of Directors.  Evotec recently shared that due to the impending departure of Dr. Daniel Mahony, its current Sernova Board delegate, who is leaving to pursue a new professional undertaking, they would be nominating a new Board representative.  With heartfelt gratitude, we wish Dan all the very best in his future endeavors.

Dr. Muehlenweg will join Sernova’s Board of Directors effective immediately.  Sernova expects the brief period of overlap with Dr. Daniel Mahony will assist in the transition bringing Dr. Muehlenweg rapidly up to speed on Sernova’s operational and strategic matters.

Bernd Muehlenweg's work experience includes various senior leadership positions in the biotech and pharmaceutical industry with a concentration on business development and alliance management roles. At Evotec, he leads the company's partnering and out-licensing efforts in their focus areas including iPSC-based Cell Therapy, Panomics-driven drug discovery, Oncology, Immunology Inflammation, Infectious Diseases, Predictive Safety and Enabling Technologies.

Prior to joining Evotec, he held the position of Chief Business Officer and served on the Executive Board of Nanobiotix, a French clinical stage oncology company. Bernd co-founded Panoptes Pharma GmbH, an Austrian biotech company focused on developing therapies for eye diseases, which was later acquired by Eyegate Pharmaceuticals. Additionally, at Wilex AG, he played a key role in the company's growth and expansion. He began his career as a Group Leader at the Technical University of Munich, Germany.

Bernd Muehlenweg graduated with a Ph.D. from the oncology research group at the Department of Gynecology at the Technical University of Munich in 2000. He further attended management classes at the Switzerland based St. Galler Business School in 2006.

“Sernova’s Cell Pouch and Evotec’s iPSC derived islet like clusters are a powerful combination, offering a potential functional cure for type 1 diabetes (T1D) in the not-too-distant future. My personal goal is to foster sustainable, fruitful and durable partnerships to advance scientific innovations into approved treatments. I have tremendous confidence that the strategic collaboration between Evotec and Sernova will provide a strong foundation to potentially achieve this objective” said Bernd Muehlenweg, Sernova’s new Board Director.

“At Sernova, we will continue to pursue opportunities to improve the lives of patients with unmet needs while building long-term value for shareholders in multiple ways. I cannot stress enough the importance of the Cell Pouch System as the anchor for our ongoing T1D trial. In addition to its long-term payload survival, containment and retrievability characteristics, we believe that the Cell Pouch is a key differentiator in delivering clinically meaningful outcomes, including insulin independence and normalized HbA1c counts amongst others, to several patients in our ongoing Phase 1/2 trial. We are pleased to welcome Bernd as he joins us on our mission to build a future where chronic conditions are no longer insurmountable obstacles.” said Cynthia Pussinen, CEO of Sernova.

ABOUT SERNOVA AND ITS CELL POUCH SYSTEM PLATFORM FOR CELL THERAPY

Sernova Corp. is a clinical-stage biotechnology company that is developing therapeutic cell technologies for chronic diseases, including insulin-dependent diabetes, thyroid disease, and blood disorders that include hemophilia A. Sernova is currently focused on developing a ‘functional cure’ for insulin-dependent diabetes with its lead technology, the Cell Pouch System, a novel implantable and scalable medical device with immune protected therapeutic cells.

On implantation, The Cell Pouch forms a natural vascularized tissue environment in the body for long-term survival and function of therapeutic cells that release essential factors that are absent or deficient in the bodies of patients with certain chronic diseases. Sernova’s Cell Pouch System has demonstrated its potential to be a ‘functional cure’ for people with T1D in an ongoing Phase 1/2 clinical study at the University of Chicago.

Sernova partnered with Evotec to develop an implantable off-the-shelf iPSC (induced pluripotent stem cells) based islet replacement therapy. This partnership provides Sernova a potentially unlimited supply of insulin-producing cells to treat millions of patients with insulin-dependent diabetes (type 1 and type 2). Sernova’s development pipeline that uses its Cell Pouch System also includes: a cell therapy for hypothyroid disease resulting from thyroid gland removal and an ex vivo lentiviral Factor VIII gene therapy for hemophilia A.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION, PLEASE CONTACT:

Christopher Barnes

VP, Investor Relations

Sernova Corp.

Tel: +1 519-902-7923

Email: [email protected]

Website: www.sernova.com

FORWARD-LOOKING INFORMATION 

This release contains statements that, to the extent they are not recitations of historical facts, may constitute “forward-looking statements” that involve various risks, uncertainties, and assumptions, including, without limitation, statements regarding the prospects, plans, and objectives of the company. Wherever possible, but not always, words such as "expects", "plans", "anticipates", "believes", "intends", "estimates", "projects", "potential for" and similar expressions, or that events or conditions "will", "would", "may", "could" or "should" occur are used to identify forward-looking statements. These statements reflect management’s beliefs with respect to future events and are based on information currently available to management on the date such statements were made. Many factors could cause Sernova’s actual results, performances or achievements to not be as anticipated, estimated or intended or to differ materially from those expressed or implied by the forward-looking statements contained in this news release. Such factors could include, but are not limited to, the company’s ability to secure additional financing and licensing arrangements on reasonable terms, or at all; ability to conduct all required preclinical and clinical studies for the company’s Cell Pouch System and or related technologies, including the timing and results of those trials; ability to obtain all necessary regulatory approvals, or on a timely basis; ability to in-license additional complementary technologies; ability to execute its business strategy and successfully compete in the market; and the inherent risks associated with the development of biotechnology combination products generally. Many of the factors are beyond our control, including those caused by, related to, or impacted by the novel coronavirus pandemic. Investors should consult the company’s quarterly and annual filings available on www.sedarplus.ca for additional information on risks and uncertainties relating to the forward-looking statements. Sernova 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.