Receives Grant Award to Fund Initial Co-Development Program from the Canada-Israel Industrial R&D Foundation

GERMANTOWN, Md., Dec. 18, 2018 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Orgenesis Inc. (NASDAQ: ORGS), a developer, manufacturer and service provider of advanced cell therapies, today announced a collaboration with MangoGen Pharma Inc. (MangoGen), initially focused on the pre-clinical development of insulin producing cells (IPC) using MangoGen’s advanced gene delivery platform. Under this initial collaboration, the companies will work together to develop a complete solution for the delivery of IPC cells to murine animal models. The Company also announced that it has been awarded a grant from the Canada-Israel Industrial R&D Foundation (CIIRDF) to fund this project.

Vered Caplan, CEO of Orgenesis, stated, “We look forward to working with MangoGen, which has developed an innovative virus vector for the delivery of DNA utilizing baculoviruses. We believe that the MangoGen baculoviral delivery and encapsulation system has the potential to increase the potency and performance of our transdifferentiation technology, as well as other cell therapies we are developing and those of our customers.  Baculoviral systems have a number of advantages over other vectors due to the fact that they do not integrate into the hosts DNA and are therefore unlikely to cause problems with mutation or immunogenicity.  By using MangoGen’s baculovirus, it could potentially enhance manufacturing processes and reduce the cost of goods for Orgenesis’ IPCs and other cell therapies.  We are also pleased that we received this grant from CIIRDF, which is a further validation of the technology and could help accelerate our research.”

Paul Plested, CEO of MangoGen Pharma, commented, “We are delighted to partner with Orgenesis on this exciting project to further enhance the efficacy and manufacturability of Orgenesis’ transdifferentiation technology through our baculoviral gene-delivery and encapsulation technology.  We see broad potential for this platform technology within the cell therapy and regenerative medicine markets.  Orgenesis is an ideal partner given their broad expertise and capabilities as both a developer of advanced cell therapies and leading Contract Development and Manufacturing Organization (CDMO).”

About MangoGen
MangoGen Pharma Inc. is a privately-owned bio-engineering company with a mission to develop novel gene-delivering medical devices that improve human health. MangoGen, located in Laval, Quebec, Canada, is a spin-out of McGill University and owns a novel patented technology that utilizes genetically modified baculoviruses that are encapsulated (to protect from serum inactivation) and are coated on to medical devices. On device deployment, the virus delivers the human gene to the local cells, and an active protein is transiently produced. MangoGen’s product pipeline includes the development of a game changing gene-delivering coronary stent, a gene-delivering film-dressing to promote and accelerate wound healing (e.g. for diabetic foot ulcers), and gene-delivering sutures. More information is available at: www.mangogen.com

About Orgenesis
Orgenesis is vertically integrated service and research company in the regenerative medicine industry with a focus on cell and gene therapy development and manufacturing. The Company operates through two platforms including (i) a Cell Therapy (“CT”) development platform and (ii) a Contract Development and Manufacturing Organization (“CDMO”) platform. Through the CT development platform, Orgenesis is focused on the development of proprietary cell therapies, including an autologous trans-differentiation technology and therapeutic collaborations and licensing with other pre-clinical and clinical-stage biopharma companies and research and healthcare institutes. Through the CDMO platform, Orgenesis is focused on manufacturing and development services for other biopharma companies. The CDMO platform operates through Masthercell Global, which currently consists of MaSTherCell in Belgium, Atvio in Israel and subsidiaries in South Korea and in the United States, each having unique know-how and expertise for manufacturing in a multitude of cell types. These capabilities offered to third-parties are also utilized for internal development projects, with the goal of allowing Orgenesis to bring new products to patients faster and in a cost-effective way. Additional information is available at: www.orgenesis.com.

Notice Regarding Forward-Looking Statements
This press release contains forward-looking statements which are made pursuant to the safe harbor provisions of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended and Section 21E of the Securities and Exchange Act of 1934, as amended.  These forward-looking statements involve substantial uncertainties and risks and are based upon our current expectations, estimates and projections and reflect our beliefs and assumptions based upon information available to us at the date of this release.  We caution readers that forward-looking statements are predictions based on our current expectations about future events.  These forward-looking statements are not guarantees of future performance and are subject to risks, uncertainties and assumptions that are difficult to predict.  Our actual results, performance or achievements could differ materially from those expressed or implied by the forward-looking statements as a result of a number of factors, including, but not limited to, the success of our reorganized CDMO operations, the success of our partnership with Great Point Partners, our ability to achieve and maintain overall profitability, the sufficiency of working capital to realize our business plans, the development of our transdifferentiation technology as therapeutic treatment for diabetes which could, if successful, be a cure for Type 1 Diabetes; our technology not functioning as expected; our ability to retain key employees; our ability to satisfy the rigorous regulatory requirements for new procedures; our competitors developing better or cheaper alternatives to our products and the risks and uncertainties discussed under the heading “RISK FACTORS” in Item 1A of our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended November 30, 2017, and in our other filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission.  We undertake no obligation to revise or update any forward-looking statement for any reason.