_________________________________________________________________

CSE: DTC  FSE: DTC  USOTC: DTCFF  PRESS RELEASE

mRNA WITH DEFENCE’S ACCUM^TM PROGRAM HAS BEEN INITIATED

Vancouver, BC, Canada, January 10^th, 2023 - Defence Therapeutics Inc. (“Defence” or the “Company”), a Canadian biopharmaceutical company specialized in the development of immune-oncology vaccines and drug delivery technologies, is pleased to announce the advancement in the development of its Accum^TM -mRNA vaccine program. This R&D program will not only impact the field of cancer immunotherapy, but it can also be directly applied to the development of new vaccines targeting infectious diseases. 

The mRNA vaccination approach offers tremendous advantages over the use of peptide- or protein-based vaccines. mRNA like any other biomolecule, is extremely sensitive to harsh conditions such as high acidity and enzymatic reactions, which would directly impede their therapeutic potency. In addition, mRNA molecules need to reach the cytoplasm where they can be efficiently translated into full proteins, this is where Accum^TM may add stability and potency.

Defence is working with a private European company to synthesize mRNA vaccine coupled with its Accum^TM. Defence’s has now completed the first phase of its Accum^TM-mRNA vaccine development by achieving the synthesis and the Quality Control of the amino-modified polyA tail Ova mRNA. Defence is advancing on the second step, which consists of coupling Accum^TM variants to amino-modified mRNA as well as testing and analyzing: i) the effect of Accum^TM and linkers on mRNA stability, ii) the linker coupling onto amino-modified mRNA, iii) the Accum^TM coupling onto linker-amino modified mRNA, and finally iv) the purification and analysis of the Accum^TM-linker-amino-modified mRNA.

The third and final step of this Accum-mRNA vaccine development, scheduled at the end of January 2023, will be the production of a small vaccine batch to conduct in vivo studies in animals as a head-to-head comparison between Accum^TM-linked and "naked" mRNA vaccines for their potential to generate an immune response capable of eradicating and controlling established tumors.

“The development of our Accum^TM-mRNA vaccine is on track, our in vivo study on animals with pre-established solid tumors is planned for this quarter with the objective to demonstrate that Accum^TM can significantly enhance the therapeutic potency of a given mRNA vaccine”, says Mr. Plouffe, CEO of Defence Therapeutics.

The mRNA therapeutics market size is projected to surpass around USD 128.14 billion by 2030 and growing at a registered CAGR of 13.03% from 2022 to 2030 according to Precedence Research.

https://www.precedenceresearch.com/mrna-therapeutics-market#:~:text=The%20mRNA%20therapeutics%20market%20size,forecast%20period%202022%20to%202030.

About Defence:

Defence Therapeutics is a publicly-traded biotechnology company working on engineering the next generation vaccines and ADC products using its proprietary platform. The core of Defence Therapeutics platform is the ACCUM^TM technology, which enables precision delivery of vaccine antigens or ADCs in their intact form to target cells. As a result, increased efficacy and potency can be reached against catastrophic illness such as cancer and infectious diseases.

For further information:

Sebastien Plouffe, President, CEO and Director

P: (514) 947-2272

Splouffe@defencetherapeutics.com

www.defencetherapeutics.com

Cautionary Statement Regarding “Forward-Looking” Information

This release includes certain statements that may be deemed "forward-looking statements". All statements in this release, other than statements of historical facts, that address events or developments that the Company expects to occur, are forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements are statements that are not historical facts and are generally, but not always, identified by the words "expects", "plans", "anticipates", "believes", "intends", "estimates", "projects", "potential" and similar expressions, or that events or conditions "will", "would", "may", "could" or "should" occur. Although the Company believes the expectations expressed in such forward-looking statements are based on reasonable assumptions, such statements are not guarantees of future performance and actual results may differ materially from those in the forward-looking statements. Factors that could cause the actual results to differ materially from those in forward-looking statements include regulatory actions, market prices, and continued availability of capital and financing, and general economic, market or business conditions. Investors are cautioned that any such statements are not guarantees of future performance and actual results or developments may differ materially from those projected in the forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements are based on the beliefs, estimates and opinions of the Company's management on the date the statements are made. Except as required by applicable securities laws, the Company undertakes no obligation to update these forward-looking statements in the event that management's beliefs, estimates or opinions, or other factors, should change.

Neither the CSE nor its market regulator, as that term is defined in the policies of the CSE, accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.