Vectus Biosystems

MAURIE STANG

NON-EXECUTIVE DEPUTY CHAIRMAN

(ASX:VBS)

◾ Company Name: Vectus Biosystems ◾ Company ASX code: VBS ◾ Key areas: Drug development targeting fibrosis ◾ Key Personnel: Dr Ronald Shnier, Non-Executive Chairman | Maurie Stang, Non-Executive Deputy Chairman | Dr Karen Duggan, Executive Director & CEO ◾ Locations: Sydney, Australia ◾ Market Cap as of 15/09/22: $27.77M ◾ 52 Week share price as of 15 September: $0.750 - $2.200 ◾ Company Website: vectusbiosystems.com.au

COMPANY PROFILE

Sydney-based biotech Vectus Biosystems is a well-focussed operation, with an elegantly simple goal: research, development and licence its technologies.

The company’s story begins with the realisation by Vectus Executive Director & CEO, Dr Karen Duggan, that a naturally occurring molecule in the human body (VIP) was capable of reversing damage to organs such as the heart and kidney due to chronic diseases such as diabetes and hypertension.

As a quick explainer, the damage to multiple organs is termed fibrosis and reflects replacement of the functional tissue of heart, lungs, liver or kidney by scar tissue.

Fibrosis tends to happen in areas of the body that are repeatedly exposed to toxins or put under pressure to the point where injuries occur.

When a significant part of an organ is replaced by fibrosis then symptoms and signs of heart failure, liver failure, kidney failure or respiratory failure occur.

Probably the most commonly recognised example is cystic fibrosis, a genetic disorder that is carried by 1 out of every 25 of the world’s population and affects around 1 in every 3,000 people.

And although there are a number of treatments available to slow down the progression of the disease, life expectancy for people with cystic fibrosis is fleetingly short: around 37 years old for men, and about 40 years old for women.

Any form of fibrosis is extremely difficult to treat, and the lasting damage it causes is almost always permanent.

This is what makes the current focus for Vectus such an attractive avenue of development as the company has shown that its treatment can reverse what has long been considered a ‘one way street’.

When Dr Duggan formed Vectus Biosystems, the aim was to take her discovery and develop a novel, orallydelivered drug treatment that would not only halt, but also turn back the incredible damage fibrosis is known to cause.

Since that time, the company has made some enormous leaps forward, developing a library of more than 1,000 small molecules with varying degrees of antihypertensive and/or anti-fibrotic properties.

In May of this year Vectus announced that the single ascending dose (SAD) Phase I study, where healthy volunteers received 2mg, 10mg, 30mg, 100mg or 300mg doses of its cardiovascular renal lead drug candidate VB0004, had been completed.

No adverse events occurred during the study.

Then in September, Vectus announced that the multiple ascending dose (MAD) component had also been completed, again with no adverse events.

Following completion of the Phase 1a Vectus will now embark on a Phase 1b study in patients with uncomplicated hypertension to provide efficacy data for VB0004.

KEY INVESTMENT HIGHLIGHTS

◾ Three first-in-class assets focused on major unmet therapeutic needs – lead program VB0004 continues positive. progress through Phase 1 clinical trial ◾ Exceptional patent protection across a library of more than 1,000 compounds. ◾ Significant interest from potential pharmaceutical partners.