Provectus Biopharmaceuticals Expands Sponsored Research Collaboration with University of Calgary (Canada) to Investigate Systemic Administration of Pharmaceutical-Grade Rose Bengal for Treatment of Pediatric Leukemia

KNOXVILLE, TN, Aug. 17, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Provectus (OTCQB: PVCT) today announced that the Company has expanded its sponsored research program with Aru Narendran, MD, PhD, Professor, Departments of Pediatrics, Oncology, Biochemistry & Molecular Biology, and Physiology & Pharmacology at the Cumming School of Medicine of the University of Calgary in Calgary, Alberta, Canada to investigate systemic administration of Provectus’ pharmaceutical-grade rose bengal for the treatment of pediatric leukemia. The Company’s innovatively-assembled and proprietary rose bengal is the lead member of a class of small molecules called halogenated xanthenes.

As part of this new sponsored research, the Narendran team plans to:

• Identify clinically-feasible drug combinations and synthetic lethality that have synergistic activity with Provectus’ rose bengal,
  
• Evaluate systemic drug administration routes for maximal tolerability,
  
• Evaluate the modulation of WNK1 (lysine deficient protein kinase 1) and other related pathways induced by the Company’s rose bengal, and
  
• Complete demonstration of STING (stimulator of interferon genes) dimerization in leukemia cells.
  

The Narendran team has previously shown:

• In vitro activity and target modulation effects of Provectus’ rose bengal against several different pediatric leukemia‐derived cell lines and primary cells,
  
• Proof‐of-concept of several potential mechanisms that may be involved in this process,
  
• Rose bengal’s ability to induce STING dimerization and the molecule’s association with heat shock proteins, and
  
• Preliminary evidence of in vivo activity in mouse xenograft models using the pediatric leukemia cell line SEM following oral doses of the Company’s rose bengal.
  

About Provectus

Provectus Biopharmaceuticals, Inc. (Provectus or the Company) is a clinical-stage biotechnology company developing immunotherapy medicines for different disease areas based on a class of small molecules called halogenated xanthenes (HXs). The Company’s lead molecule is rose bengal sodium. A second HX molecule has been synthesized.

Provectus’ drug discovery and development programs include investigational drugs and drug targets in oncology (clinical-stage), dermatology (clinical-stage), hematology, virology, microbiology, ophthalmology (clinical-stage), animal health, and tissue regeneration and repair, and use multiple routes of administration, such as intralesional (IL), topical (.top), oral (P.O.), inhaled (.inh), intranasal (IN), and intravenous (IV).

Information about the Company’s clinical trials can be found at the National Institutes of Health (NIH) registry, www.clinicaltrials.gov. For additional information about Provectus, please visit the Company's website at www.provectusbio.com.

FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS: The information in this press release may include “forward-looking statements,” within the meaning of U.S. securities legislation, relating to the business of Provectus and its affiliates, which are based on the opinions and estimates of Company management and are subject to a variety of risks and uncertainties and other factors that could cause actual events or results to differ materially from those projected in the forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements are often, but not always, identified by the use of words such as “seek,” “anticipate,” “budget,” “plan,” “continue,” “estimate,” “expect,” “forecast,” “may,” “will,” “project,” “predict,” “potential,” “targeting,” “intend,” “could,” “might,” “should,” “believe,” and similar words suggesting future outcomes or statements regarding an outlook.

The safety and efficacy of the agents and/or uses under investigation have not been established. There is no guarantee that the agents will receive health authority approval or become commercially available in any country for the uses being investigated or that such agents as products will achieve any particular revenue levels.

Due to the risks, uncertainties, and assumptions inherent in forward-looking statements, readers should not place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements. The forward-looking statements contained in this press release are made as of the date hereof or as of the date specifically specified herein, and Provectus undertakes no obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, except in accordance with applicable securities laws. The forward-looking statements are expressly qualified by this cautionary statement.

Risks, uncertainties, and assumptions include those discussed in the Company’s filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), including those described in Item 1A of:

• The Company’s Annual Report on Form 10-K for the period ended December 31, 2021, and
  
• Provectus’ Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for the period ended June 30, 2022.
  

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Contact:

Provectus Biopharmaceuticals, Inc.
Heather Raines, CPA
Chief Financial Officer
Phone: (866) 594-5999