WINNIPEG, Manitoba, Jan. 17, 2019 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Kane Biotech Inc. (TSX-V:KNE, OTCQB:KNBIF), (the “Corporation” or “Kane Biotech”), announced today the kick-off of their new human health strategy. Efforts will be focused on development of a wound care hydrogel containing Kane’s patented enzyme DispersinB^®. Marc Edwards, Chief Executive Officer of Kane Biotech, stated, “I believe DispersinB^® could be a technology platform with a variety of applications in various fields. With DispersinB^® hydrogel, our aim is to not replace existing wound care treatments, but to greatly improve their activity and efficacy through the removal of bacteria biofilm. This first product, due to its unique impact on biofilms, has the potential to be the missing link in wound care.”

This strategy is further fortified by the Corporation’s renewal of its exclusive worldwide license agreement with the University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey, now part of Rutgers University, for all human, animal and industrial applications of the DispersinB^® enzyme. The discovery of DispersinB^® was made by Dr. Jeffrey Kaplan, Assistant Professor in the Department of Oral Biology at UMDNJ, who was able to show that the novel enzyme is responsible for the dispersal of bacterial biofilms.  Kane Biotech is delighted to be able to count on Dr. Kaplan’s continued support in the development of the DispersinB^® technology platform.

Kane has taken a number of measures to accelerate the development and commercialization of the DispersinB^® technology including, the creation of a Scientific Advisory Board (S.A.B.) and the appointment of Dr. Gordon Guay as Chief Scientific Officer. Following a full technology review by their S.A.B., Kane Biotech identified DispersinB^® as the company’s key area of focus moving forward in human health. “DispersinB^® is a unique enzyme that is capable of greatly enhancing the efficacy of available wound care treatments by dissolving bacterial biofilm, which could significantly improve patient outcome and timelines,” added Dr. Gordon Guay, Chief Scientific Officer of Kane Biotech. Kane has also retained the services of the international regulatory consultant Amarex Clinical Research, a CRO with extensive experience in FDA submissions. With their help, Kane Biotech plans to conduct additional clinical studies and seek regulatory approval moving forward in 2019.

Furthermore, Kane Biotech recently submitted a proposal under the Military Infectious Diseases Research Program (MIDRP) with Medical Technology Enterprise Consortium (MTEC) open concepts request for project information. MTECs mission is to assist the U.S. Army Medical Research and Materiel Command (USAMRMC) by providing cutting-edge technologies and supporting effective life cycle management to transition medical solutions to industry that protect, treat, and optimize Warfighters’ health and performance across the full spectrum of military operations. MTEC has already given first stage approval to this project. “Our team worked very hard to put the proposal together and we are excited that it was well received, we are looking forward to further interactions with the U.S. Department of Defense,” stated Marc Edwards Chief Executive Officer of Kane Biotech.

Wound care is currently the most expensive area of care with multiple complex solutions. Chronic wounds present a significant financial burden to the U.S. healthcare system. A 2018 study of Medicare data estimated the cost to treat these wounds at between $28 billion and $32 billion. The treatment of chronic wounds is a major challenge for health care providers, with a high failure rate leading to amputation, sepsis and deathⁱ. One of the major reasons for this failure is the formation of bacterial biofilms, which are present in 60% of chronic wounds^ii,iii. Biofilm formation can make bacteria up to 1000 times more resistant to antibiotics, antimicrobial agents, disinfectants and the host immune system^iv.  Ultimately, anti-biofilm therapies have the potential to significantly increase the ability of healthcare providers to effectively treat wound infections.

About Kane Biotech
Kane Biotech is a biotechnology company engaged in the research, development and commercialization of technologies and products that prevent and remove microbial biofilms.

The Corporation has a portfolio of biotechnologies, intellectual property (75 patents and patents pending, trade secrets and trademarks) and products developed by the Corporation’s own biofilm research expertise and acquired from leading research institutions. StrixNB™, DispersinB^®, Aledex^®, bluestem™, AloSera™, coactiv+™ and Kane^® are trademarks of Kane Biotech Inc.   The Corporation is listed on the TSX Venture Exchange under the symbol “KNE” and on the OTCQB Venture Market under the symbol “KNBIF”.

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

Caution Regarding Forward-Looking Information
This press release contains certain statements regarding Kane Biotech Inc. that constitute forward-looking information under applicable securities law. These statements reflect management’s current beliefs and are based on information currently available to management. Certain material factors or assumptions are applied in making forward-looking statements, and actual results may differ materially from those expressed or implied in such statements. These risks and uncertainties include, but are not limited to, risks relating to the Company’s: (a) financial condition, including lack of significant revenues to date and reliance on equity and other financing; (b) business, including its early stage of development, government regulation, market acceptance for its products, rapid technological change and dependence on key personnel; (c) intellectual property including the ability of the Company to protect its intellectual property and dependence on its strategic partners; and (d) capital structure, including its lack of dividends on its common shares, volatility of the market price of its common shares and public company costs. Further information about these and other risks and uncertainties can be found in the disclosure documents filed by the Company with applicable securities regulatory authorities, available at www.sedar.com. The Company cautions that the foregoing list of factors that may affect future results is not exhaustive.

These risks and uncertainties should be considered carefully undue reliance should not be placed on the forward-looking statements.  Although the forward-looking statements contained in this press release are based upon what management believes to be reasonable assumptions, the Company cannot provide assurance that actual results will be consistent with these forward-looking statements. The Company undertakes no obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statement.

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ⁱ Weledji EP, Fokam P. Treatment of the diabetic foot – to amputate or not?BMC Surg. 2014;14:83. Published 2014 Oct 24. doi:10.1186/1471-2482-14-83
ⁱⁱ James G.A., Swogger E., Wolcott R., Pulcini E., Secor P., Sestrich J., Costerton J.W., Stewart P.S. Biofilms in chronic wounds. Wound Rep. Regen. 2008;16:37–44. doi: 10.1111/j.1524-475X.2007.00321.
ⁱⁱⁱ Omar A, Wright JB, Schultz G, Burrell R, Nadworny P. Microbial Biofilms and Chronic Wounds. Microorganisms. 2017;5(1):9. Published 2017 Mar 7. doi:10.3390/microorganisms5010009
^iv Singh S, Singh SK, Chowdhury I, Singh R. Understanding the Mechanism of Bacterial Biofilms Resistance to Antimicrobial Agents. The Open Microbiology Journal. 2017;11:53-62.