Mr. Cameron Groome reports

MICROBIX & BULGARIA'S NCIPD EXECUTE SUPPLY AGREEMENT

Microbix Biosystems Inc. and the National Center for Infectious and Parasitic Diseases of Bulgaria (NCIPD) have signed an agreement whereby NCIPD will supply a portfolio of pathogen seed stocks for production of Microbix quality assessment products (QAPs).

Following detailed discussions and a meeting at NCIPD in Sofia, Bulgaria, attended by Microbix's chief executive officer and NCIPD's director, the parties have executed a multiyear agreement under which NCIPD will supply organisms to Microbix on an exclusive basis in exchange for a licence fee, material-transfer fees and royalties on net sales of related QAPs. Through this collaboration with NCIPD, Microbix expects to commercialize multiple new QAPs (also known as test controls) that will help ensure the accuracy and quality of multiple tests for diagnosing infectious diseases, thereby improving human health and well-being around the world. QAPs are inactivated and stabilized mimetics of patient samples, used to validate testing.

Founded in 1881, NCIPD was a pioneer of the modern fight against contagious and parasitic diseases and has since remained at the forefront of such national and international research. It is a national institution within the Ministry of Health, hosts all National Reference Laboratories, and provides postgraduate training in epidemiology, microbiology, virology, parasitology and immunology. In 2007, the European Center for Disease Control (ECDC) in Stockholm designated NCIPD as a leading national competent body in the field of infectious and parasitic diseases. From its work, NCIPD has developed an extensive collection of bacteria, parasites and viruses, which have clear provenance and have been extensively characterized.

In turn, Microbix has been a leading international producer of biological ingredients for nearly 40 years. It has leveraged its expertise to become a global leader in creating and manufacturing QAPs, which are used to regularly validate the whole workflow of diagnostic tests and thereby help ensure their continuing accuracy. Microbix now offers approximately 300 QAPs for supporting infectious disease diagnostics tests and expects to meaningfully increase that number via its agreement with NCIPD.

Professor Dr. Iva Christova, director of the NCIPD, commented: "International relationships are an integral part of our mandate at NCIPD, so we're pleased to add Microbix as an active expert collaborator. It is critical that all tests to diagnose infections are optimally accurate, so NCIPD is delighted to have microorganisms from our library incorporated into QAPs that will support clinically important tests."

Pavel Zhelev, director of product management at Microbix, also commented: "As a Bulgarian-Canadian, it was a delight to foster this agreement between Microbix and NCIPD. Bringing these two synergistic parties together enables the creation of new and innovative QAPs to help ensure the accuracy of emerging tests for bacterial, parasitic and viral infections. We are grateful for the trust NCIPD is placing in Microbix through this collaboration."

About Microbix Biosystems Inc.

Microbix Biosystems creates proprietary biological products for human health, with over 120 skilled employees and sales now targeting $2.0-million or more per month. It makes and exports a wide range of critical ingredients and devices for the global diagnostics industry, notably antigens for immunoassays and its laboratory quality assessment products (QAPs) that support clinical lab proficiency testing, enable assay development and validation, or help ensure the quality of clinical diagnostic workflows. Its antigens drive the antibody tests of approximately 100 diagnostics makers, while QAPs are sold to clinical lab accreditation organizations, diagnostics companies and clinical labs. Microbix QAPs are now available in over 30 countries, supported by a network of international distributors. Microbix is ISO 9001 and 13485 accredited, United States Food and Drug Administration-registered, Australian TGA-registered, Health Canada-establishment-licensed and provides IVDR-compliant CE marked products.

Microbix also applies its biological expertise and infrastructure to develop other proprietary products and technologies, most notably Kinlytic urokinase, a biologic thrombolytic drug used to treat blood clots, and reagents or media to support molecular diagnostic testing (for example, its DxTM for patient-sample collection).

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