AGOURA HILLS, Calif.?and?DEERFIELD, Ill.,?March 19, 2020?(GLOBE NEWSWIRE) --?Mateon Therapeutics, Inc.(OTCQB:MATN) (?Mateon?) announced today their expanded focus on artificial intelligence (AI) enabled EdgePoint projects by expanding their partnership with?Meridian IT, a leading technology services provider.?EdgePoint, the AI division of Mateon, was formed after the acquisition of?PointR Data, Inc., that specializes in AI machine vision for the retail sector. In retail, the underlying Amazon Go-like technology enables automatic, cashier-less stores, which the EdgePoint team has implemented as a use-case in a convenience store chain with the help of Meridian. In this project, Meridian powers the underlying platform deploying these retail use cases leveraging AI Vision technologies. Mateon intends to leverage on the AI machine vision technology used in the retail use cases to pharmaceutical manufacturing, especially with our lead product OT-101, which we are testing for coronaviruses, including the current COVID-19. ?Meridian is committed to advancing technologies that create an improved, stress-free experience for our customers. In EdgePoint, we have found a partner who shares our commitment and who can help us bring this enhanced experience to life,? said?Michelle Fuller, Vice President of Solutions at Meridian. ?With Meridian, we are creating convenience store fast-lanes where shoppers don?t have time to wait through checkout lines. They can grab a sandwich and soda and be on their way within minutes,? the Chief Business Officer of Mateon,?Saran Saund, explained. ?The same technology can be deployed to track men and materials in the pharmaceutical manufacturing industry increasing data integrity and compliance while reducing labor costs." Under Mateon, this technology will be leveraged to bring drug manufacturing into the modern age.?Because of regulatory concerns, much of drug manufacturing is stuck in legacy processes with operating procedures that are largely manual. These practices are inefficient and prone to errors burdened with extra personnel for control. The product is a novel application of AI neural networks and blockchain to ensure compliance with the FDA while ensuring ROI for manufacturers by slashing labor costs. iBIO Inc, a biologics drug manufacturer, has recently signed an?agreement with Mateon to test and deploy the AI machine vision product to automate its shop-floor operating procedures. The companies envisage a revenue?relationship post testing period which?encompasses a combination of one-time?installation fees, monthly subscriptions and transaction fees. ?Meridian has been a fantastic partner on this groundbreaking project,? said Dr.?Vuong Trieu, who serves as Mateon's CEO. ?We are excited to be announcing our first partnership with a major systems integrator with deep expertise in IBM and PointR vision technologies. Together, we are offering a solution that brings pharmaceutical manufacturing into the modern age." About?Mateon Therapeutics Mateon was created by the recent reverse merger with Oncotelic which became a wholly owned subsidiary of Mateon, creating an immuno-oncology company dedicated to the development of first in class RNA therapeutics as well as small molecule drugs against cancer. OT-101, the lead immune-oncology drug candidate of Mateon/Oncotelic, is a first-in-class RNA therapeutic targeting TGF beta that exhibited single agent activity in some relapsed/refractory cancer patients in clinical trial settings. The founding team members of Oncotelic were responsible for the development of Abraxane as chemotherapeutic agents for breast, lung, melanoma, and pancreatic cancer. Abraxane was approved in 2005 and has more than?$1B?in sales annually. The same founding team was responsible for the development of Cynviloq, a next generation Abraxane, which was acquired by NantPharma for?$1.3B. Mateon/Oncotelic will leverage its deep expertise in oncology and RNA therapeutic drug development to improve treatment outcomes and survival of cancer patients. For more information, please visit?www.oncotelic.com?and?www.mateon.com. About Meridian IT Meridian is a services company that helps you consume technology the way you want for today and for tomorrow. With over 160 OEM partners and hundreds of services professionals throughout the world, we help implement the solutions you want and provide the expertise on the solutions you need. Since 1979, we have guided customers in transforming the technology tools and resources they already have into undeniable business value. For more information, visit?www.meridianitinc.com. Mateon's Cautionary Note on Forward-Looking Statements This press release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. All statements, other than statements of historical facts, included in this communication regarding strategy, future operations, future financial position, prospects, plans and objectives of management are forward-looking statements. Words such as ?may?, ?expect?, ?anticipate? ?hope?, ?vision?, ?optimism?, ?design?, ?exciting?, ?promising?, ?will?, ?conviction?, "estimate," "intend," "believe", ?quest for a cure of cancer?, ?innovation-driven?, ?paradigm-shift?, ?high scientific merit?, ?impact potential? and similar expressions are intended to identify forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements contained in this press release include, but are not limited to, statements about future plans, the progress, timing, clinical development, scope and success of future clinical trials, the reporting of clinical data for the company?s product candidates and the potential use of the company?s product candidates to treat various cancer indications. Statements concerning the anticipated completion of the proposed merger, the anticipated success of the PointR technology, or the benefits expected to be gained from the merger are all forward-looking statements. Each of these forward-looking statements involves risks and uncertainties and actual results may differ materially from these forward-looking statements. Many factors may cause differences between current expectations and actual results, including unexpected safety or efficacy data observed during preclinical or clinical studies, clinical trial site activation or enrollment rates that are lower than expected, changes in expected or existing competition, changes in the regulatory environment, failure of collaborators to support or advance collaborations or product candidates and unexpected litigation or other disputes. These risks are not exhaustive, the company faces known and unknown risks, including the risk factors described in the company?s annual report on Form 10-K filed with the?SEC?on?April 10, 2019?and in the company?s other periodic filings. Forward-looking statements are based on expectations and assumptions as of the date of this press release. Except as required by law, the company does not assume any obligation to update forward-looking statements contained herein to reflect any change in expectations, whether as a result of new information future events, or otherwise. Contact Information: For?Mateon Therapeutics, Inc.: Amit Shah Email:?ashah@oncotelic.com Source:?Mateon Therapeutics   Source: Mateon Therapeutics