Hemogenyx to use its advanced humanized mice to develop potential treatments for COVID-19

LONDON, UK / ACCESSWIRE / April 22, 2020 /?Hemogenyx Pharmaceuticals plc (LSE: HEMO), the biopharmaceutical group developing new therapies and treatments for deadly blood diseases, is deploying its groundbreaking research and technologies to develop potential treatments for COVID-19. Using its humanized mice, the Advanced peripheral blood Hematopoietic Chimera ("ApbHC"), which were developed to model blood and autoimmune diseases and to test treatments, Hemogenyx will seek to discover human neutralizing antibodies - antibodies that are typically developed by the human immune system to neutralize invading viral pathogens - that could be used to fight SARS-CoV-2 (the virus that causes COVID-19) infections. Prior to the appearance of COVID-19, Hemogenyx had been working independently and with a number of pharmaceutical company partners to utilize the exceptional features of ApbHC to identify and isolate human neutralizing antibodies for use as antiviral therapies. The Company's methodology is generally applicable to new pathogens including viruses, as previously described in the Company's?original announcement of the development of ApbHC. With the outbreak of COVID-19, the Company concluded that it would potentially be applicable to the SARS-CoV-2 virus. As part of its studies, Hemogenyx will transplant cells from blood samples from patients who are either recovering or have already recovered from COVID-19 into its ApbHC humanized mice. The process will allow the Company's scientists to recreate a set of anti-SARS-CoV-2 virus antibodies which could be used for the treatment of COVID-19. In addition, the study will aim to demonstrate how Hemogenyx's technology can be deployed rapidly in emergencies in order to discover human neutralizing antibodies against a host of viral pathogens, including what infectious disease experts in the bioprotection and biodefense sectors call "Disease X", meaning as-yet unknown viruses that may represent a similar or greater threat than the one presented by COVID-19. Concurrently, Hemogenyx has initiated a pilot study to understand why some individuals who are infected with SARS-CoV-2 are asymptomatic, some exhibit mild symptoms and some become very sick. Such understanding could prove essential for both the development of new treatments for COVID-19 and managing the current risk of infection. Should the study prove to be successful, Hemogenyx will aim to develop and commercialize a test that could identify people with potentially high/low risk of severe illness caused by the virus. This development is an application of the Company's existing work, taking place alongside its long-term development of new treatments for blood and autoimmune diseases, which remain on track. Dr Vladislav Sandler, Hemogenyx's Chief Executive Officer commented:?"Although Hemogenyx has not traditionally been focused on fighting infectious diseases, we have always been focused on saving lives. In light of the current COVID-19 pandemic, we are determined to use our proprietary technology, expertise and resources to save lives and to alleviate suffering. We are hopeful that our humanized mice will be an indispensable tool for rapidly managing future outbreaks of viral infections." Market Abuse Regulation (MAR) Disclosure Certain information contained in this announcement would have been deemed inside information for the purposes of Article 7 of Regulation (EU) No 596/2014 until the release of this announcement. Enquiries:

Hemogenyx Pharmaceuticals plc	https://hemogenyx.com
Dr Vladislav Sandler, Chief Executive Officer & Co-Founder	headquarters@hemogenyx.com
Peter Redmond, Non-Executive Director
SP Angel Corporate Finance LLP	Tel: +44 (0)20 3470 0470
Matthew Johnson, Vadim Alexandre, Soltan Tagiev
Peterhouse Capital Limited	Tel: +44 (0)20 7469 0930
Lucy Williams, Duncan Vasey, Charles Goodfellow
US Media enquiries	Tel: +1 (323) 646-3249