Ceapro Inc. Reports 2022 Third Quarter and Nine-Month Financial Results and Operational Highlights

– R&D activities focused on the production of Avenanthramides pills for clinical trials and for scale-up of the PGX Technology

– Q3 2022 sales of $3,845,000 vs $4,523,000 in Q3 2021; YTD sales increase 14% vs 2021 - $15,517,000 vs $13,633,000

– Income before tax of $1,128,000 in Q3 2022 vs $875,000 in Q3 2021; YTD Income before tax increased 186% vs 2021 - $5,919,000 vs $2,067,000

EDMONTON, Alberta, Nov. 09, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) --  Ceapro Inc. (TSX-V: CZO; OTCQX: CRPOF) (“Ceapro” or the “Company”), a growth-stage biotechnology company focused on the development and commercialization of active ingredients for healthcare and cosmetic industries, today announced financial results and operational highlights for the third quarter and nine months ended September 30, 2022.

“Thanks to the hard work and commitment of our employees, we stand on a very solid foundation. With our year-to-date financial results, ongoing scientific advancement, expected investment and strategic plan, Ceapro is well positioned for a bright future as a high-value life sciences company,” stated Gilles Gagnon, M.Sc., MBA, President and CEO.

Corporate and Operational Highlights

Pipeline Development:

The Company’s focus is on avenanthramides, alginate, yeast beta glucan and new chemical complexes/delivery systems.

Avenanthramides

Clinical Trial:

Subsequent to quarter, the Company received an Acknowledgement Letter from Health Canada confirming complete information and material to support a Clinical Trial Application (CTA) for Phase 1/2a study entitled “Ceapro Inc Avenanthramide (AVA): A Double-Blind, Placebo-Controlled, Randomized, Adaptive, First-in-Human Study to Assess Safety, Tolerability, and Pharmacokinetics of Single and Multiple Ascending Oral Doses of Avenanthramide (AvenActive).” A response from Health Canada for clearance to proceed with this study is expected to be received within 90 days.

Formulation:

In planning for an extension into a Phase 2a (subject to Phase 1 outcomes in terms of safety and selected dose), the Ceapro R&D group manufactured sufficient additional GMP batches of avenanthramides active ingredient powder for a second formulation of avenanthramides pills. The second GMP clinical batches will also be manufactured, packaged and labeled in 2023 by Corealis Inc. GMP Manufacturing Services.

Malted Technology:

The Indian Government Patent Office has issued the Company Patent No. 408344 entitled, “Method For Increasing Concentration of Avenanthramides in Oats,” related to the production of its core value-driver product, avenanthramides, utilizing a malting technology in-licensed from Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada.

Alginate

• Pursued and fine-tuned the development of new PGX-dried chemical complexes with sodium alginate (SA) as a carrier. Emphasis put on thin strips of alginate/yeast beta glucan as a potential nutraceutical product with immune boosting properties.
• Announced publication of positive results for PGX-processed alginates impregnated with CoQ10 in The Journal of Supercritical Fluids. This publication confirms alginate as a carrier for other bioactives.
• Continued ongoing assessment of immunomodulating activity of additional complexes using alginate combined with three different sources of yeast beta glucan.
  

Yeast Beta Glucan (YBG)

• Pursued the pre-processing of YBG to ensure homogeneous dispersion and deagglomeration of polymers and batch-to-batch consistency. Several commercially available formulations of spray-dried YBG were further PGX- processed and tested following the installation of a new piece of equipment. Promising results were obtained demonstrating that this new unit can enable the production of uniform particle sizes independent of YBG supplier. Three YBG suppliers were ultimately retained, as their PGX-processed YBG not only met particle size and morphology requirements, but also met the targeted microbial load, composition, and immunological functions. Retained material from these suppliers are being further developed in combination with alginate, in the development of new delivery systems.
  
  
• Announced expansion of collaborative research program with McMaster University to develop an Inhalable Immuno-therapeutic/-prophylactic for COVID-19-Induced Lung Fibrosis. Dr. Martin Kolb was confirmed as co-lead of this project along with Dr. Ketil Ask and Dr. Todd Hoare. Dr. Kolb is a Professor within the Division of Respirology in the Department of Medicine and Pathology & Molecular Medicine and the Research Director of the Firestone Institute for Respiratory Health at St. Joseph's Healthcare Hospital. This project is supported by Mitacs.
  

Technology:

• Pursued technical upgrades of Ceapro’s PGX demo plant in Edmonton focused on the commercial scale up of an impregnation unit to produce chemical complexes with alginate/YBG. Stability studies are currently being initiated for these new chemical entities.
• Pursued engineering design for PGX processing commercial scale unit. A decision was made to use a stepwise approach to ensure standardization of product specifications at each scale level from current 10 Liters to 50-100 Liters vessels. Subsequent to quarter, the Company announced the signing of an agreement with the University of Alberta to implement this mid-scale level PGX unit at Agri-food-Discovery Place. Alginate and YBG will be the first bioactives to be processed at this facility. This work will be conducted with two specialized engineering firms, one from Europe with expertise in pharmaceutical plants and high-pressure equipment and a local engineering firm from Alberta who will facilitate installation and work with local regulatory agencies to comply with Canadian regulations and codes.

Corporate:

• Appointed Ms. Sigrun Watson as Chief Revenue Officer. Ms. Watson is a recognized commercial leader with over 20 years of experience across diverse healthcare industries.
  
• Pursued out-licensing discussions for PGX-processed new chemical complexes.
  

Subsequent to Quarter:

• Announced highly positive results for bioavailability studies using alginate and YBG as carriers for Coenzyme Q10. More specifically, results showed a statistically significant difference (p<0.02) between the amount of CoQ10 absorbed from impregnated YBG compared to commercial standard formulations: two times higher absorption than Cyclodextrin/CoQ10 and four times higher absorption than triolein/CoQ10.
  
• Successfully completed audit conducted by one major customer at the Edmonton facility.
  

Financial Highlights for the Third Quarter and Nine-Month Period Ended September 30, 2022

• Total sales of $3,845,000 for the third quarter of 2022 and $15,517,000 for the first nine months of 2022 compared to $4,523,000 and $13,633,000 for the comparative periods in 2021. The 14% increase in sales for the first nine months is mainly due to a significant increase in sales of beta glucan compared to the same period in 2021.
• Income before tax of $1,128,000 in Q3, 2022 compared to $875,000 in Q3, 2021 and $5,919,000 for the first nine months of 2022 compared to $2,067,000 for the comparative period of 2021.
• Net profit after taxes of $862,000 for the third quarter of 2022 and $4,520,000 for the first nine months of 2022 compared to a net profit of $875,000 and $2,067,000 for the comparative periods in 2021. Increased net profit for the first nine months of 2022 come from improved margin of 62.3% as compared to 57.5% in 2021. Improved margins in 2022 result from the buying of excellent source material and from the diligent work of highly skilled personnel.
• R&D investments were $314,000 for Q3 2022 compared to $1,403,000 for the same period in 2021. The significant decrease in 2022 was due to large non-recurring payments made to Montreal Heart Institute during Q3, 2021 for a clinical trial for the assessment of oat beta glucan as a potential cholesterol reducer.
• Cash flows generated from operations of $5,644,000 for the first nine months in 2022 vs $2,837,000 in 2021.
• Positive working capital balance of $17,672,000 as of September 30, 2022.

“Looking ahead, we believe Ceapro is well-positioned to once again deliver significant growth in sales, well in line with the positive trend achieved in recent years. With record year-to-date financial performance yielding a strong balance sheet, a solid foundation with Ceapro’s cosmeceuticals base business, positive results obtained from early research programs with new chemical complexes, and the scale-up and development of our unique enabling technologies and portfolio, Ceapro is now at an inflection point to accelerate its expansion into a new business model from a contract manufacturer/commodity company to a high value life science/biopharmaceutical company involved in nutraceuticals and pharmaceuticals markets,” concluded Mr. Gagnon.

The complete financial statements are available for review on SEDAR at https://sedar.com/Ceapro and on the Company’s website at www.ceapro.com.

About Ceapro Inc.

Ceapro Inc. is a Canadian biotechnology company involved in the development of proprietary extraction technology and the application of this technology to the production of extracts and “active ingredients” from oats and other renewable plant resources. Ceapro adds further value to its extracts by supporting their use in cosmeceutical, nutraceutical, and therapeutics products for humans and animals. The Company has a broad range of expertise in natural product chemistry, microbiology, biochemistry, immunology and process engineering. These skills merge in the fields of active ingredients, biopharmaceuticals and drug-delivery solutions. For more information on Ceapro, please visit the Company’s website at www.ceapro.com.

Forward-looking Statements

This press release contains forward-looking statements based on our assessment of Ceapro’s future plans and operations as of the date of this press release. Forward-looking statements and information can generally be identified by the use of forward-looking terminology such as ‘may”, “will”, “expect”, “intend”, “estimate”, “anticipate”, “believe”, “continue”, “plans” or similar terminology. By their nature, forward-looking statements are subject to numerous risks and uncertainties. Readers are cautioned that the assumptions used in the preparation of forward-looking information, although considered reasonable at the time of preparation, may prove to be imprecise and, as such, undue reliance should not be placed on forward-looking statements. Actual results, performance, or achievements could differ materially from those expressed in, or implied by, the forward-looking statements in this press release. No assurance can be given that any of the events anticipated will transpire or occur, or if any of them do so, what benefits Ceapro will derive from them. The Company disclaims any intention or obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events, or otherwise unless required by law.

For more information contact:

Jenene Thomas
JTC Team, LLC
Investor Relations and Corporate Communications Advisor
T (US): +1 (833) 475-8247
E: [email protected]

This press release does not express or imply that the Company claims its product has the ability to eliminate, cure or contain the SARS-2-CoV-2 (COVID-19) at this time.

Neither TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release