===
Kinarus Therapeutics Holding AG / Key word(s): Acquisition/Corporate Action
Business Combination of Kinarus Therapeutics Holding AG (now renamed to Curatis Holding AG) and Curatis AG completed
26-Apr-2024 / 07:00 CET/CEST
Release of an ad hoc announcement pursuant to Art. 53 LR
The issuer is solely responsible for the content of this announcement.
Ad hoc announcement pursuant to Art. 53 LR
.
. The Business Combination of Kinarus Therapeutics Holding AG (now renamed to Curatis Holding AG) with
Curatis AG and related transactions were completed on 25 April 2024
. The first trading day of the combined entities, Curatis Group (CURN.SW), is today, 26 April 2024
. A total of CHF4.36m in cash was raised in Q1 2024 in connection with the Business Combination
. Curatis Group, a specialty pharmaceutical and therapeutic drug development company focused on orphan and
ultra-orphan indications is an exciting addition to the universe of healthcare companies listed on the SIX Swiss
Exchange
. Risk-balanced business model with a mix of specialty medicine distribution and targeted own drug
development activities, focusing on compounds with existing safety and efficacy data in indications with high unmet
medical need
.
Liestal, Switzerland, 26 April 2024: Curatis Holding AG ("CURN.SW", "Curatis Holding" or the "Company", formerly
Kinarus Therapeutics Holding AG, and together with its wholly-owned subsidiary Curatis AG, "Curatis Group"), a SIX
Swiss Exchange listed specialty pharmaceutical and therapeutic speciality medicine distribution and drug development
company, today announces that it has successfully completed the business combination with Curatis AG (the "Business
Combination"). As of today, the CURN.SW shares of the Company, under the new name Curatis Holding AG and with a
relocated domicile to Liestal, Basel-Landschaft, are trading for the first time on the SIX Swiss Exchange.

As initial related transactions, a reverse share split (the "Reverse Share Split") with a reverse share split ratio of
4,480:1 (together with a small capital increase of 111 shares of the Company to make the number of shares of the
Company divisible by 4,480) and a share capital reduction, whereby the nominal value of each share of the Company was
reduced from CHF 44.80 (immediately post Reverse Share Split) to CHF 0.10 per share, were carried out. As a result, the
1,310,176,000 shares of the Company (i.e previous KNRS.SW shares with a nominal value of CHF 0.01 per KNRS.SW share)
were split into 292,450 CURN.SW shares with a nominal value of CHF 0.10 per CURN.SW share. Concurrently and as the main
transaction of the Business Combination, Curatis Holding acquired by way of contribution in kind all outstanding shares
of Curatis AG in a capital increase against a total consideration of 4,093,916 newly issued CURN.SW shares. As a result
of all these transactions, the total number of outstanding CURN.SW shares is now 4,386,366 registered shares with a
nominal value of CHF 0.10 each.
Also, as part of the Business Combination, a Mandatory Exchangeable Loan Note with principal amount of CHF 4.55 million
(the "Loan Note") was placed with selected investors. This Loan Note has already been partially converted into new
CURN.SW and, in accordance with the terms of the Loan Note, the remainder will be converted 61 trading days from today
into between 112,780 and 368,699 shares, with the conversion price depending on the 60-day volume weighted average
share price of the Company's shares. With the total cash of CHF 4.36 million raised under the Loan Note, together with
the net cash flow expected to be generated by the specialty medicine distribution business of the Curatis Group in the
future, the Curatis Group expects to have sufficient funds to execute its base case business plan for the development
of its lead product candidate C-PTBE-01.
The Curatis Group:
The Curatis Group is focused on the acquisition, development and commercialisation of innovative medicines for the
prevention, diagnosis and treatment of rare diseases - often referred to as orphan diseases - and special care
diseases. In recent years, orphan drugs have shown an above market growth compared to non-orphan innovative drugs in
the past. Orphan drug development may be associated with a faster and less costly route to market, thereby reducing a
company's overall risk profile.
The Group also operates a distribution business with a sizeable and historically profitable portfolio of interesting,
marketed orphan and specialty products in Switzerland and has a pipeline of four promising projects in advanced and
late clinical development, including KIN001, a proprietary compound platform developed by Kinarus with future
potential. The Curatis Group thus represents an attractive, risk-balanced business model.
Distribution business for orphan disease and specialty disease medicines
Curatis has exclusive distribution rights in Switzerland for more than 30 different drugs developed by third party
pharmaceutical companies - many of them orphan and specialty drugs.
With Curatis AG now being part of a publicly listed group and the expected increase in public visibility and
credibility, the Curatis Group aims to grow its speciality pharmaceuticals distribution business by expanding its
product offering in Switzerland as well as geographically expanding its distribution business to large European markets
such as Germany, France, the UK and Italy.
Development business for orphan and specialty disease medicines
Curatis Group's strategy is to identify high unmet medical need indications for compounds for which safety and clinical
efficacy data already exist, potentially allowing faster development with lower risk and investment through to
commercialisation. The development projects have been selected in line with this strategy.
C-PTBE-01 for the treatment of peritumoral brain edema in pediatric patients with diffuse intrinsic pontine glioma ("
DIPG") - next major development step: pivotal clinical study
The Group is focusing its development activities for C-PTBE-01 on peritumoral brain edema (PTBE) in pediatric patients
with diffuse intrinsic pontine glioma (DIPG). DIPG is an aggressive type of childhood cancer that forms in the brain
stem. It is very rare and almost always occurs in the pediatric population. Approximately 150-300 patients are
diagnosed with DIPG each year in the US. The average (median) overall survival for patients with DIPG is less than 1
year. PTBE refers to the accumulation of fluid in the brain tissue surrounding a tumor. It commonly occurs in brain
tumors and can cause significant neurological symptoms and complications due to increased pressure within the skull. It
may lead to symptoms such as headaches, seizures, neurological deficits, and altered mental status.
Given the lack of curative options for most DIPG patients, supportive therapy aimed at maintaining quality of life
plays a central role in the treatment of many patients. Corticosteroids are commonly used to treat PTBE. Their
administration is typically associated with rapid symptom relief. However, corticosteroids can have severe side effects
such as severe myopathies, muscle wasting, morbid weight gain, osteoporosis, gastritis, gastrointestinal bleeding,
hypertension, and personality changes.
C-PTBE-01 has shown a strong corticosteroid-sparing effect, which may allow a significant reduction in corticosteroid
use. Phase I, II and III clinical data are available, and thus Curatis Group currently expects that only a pivotal
study with a relatively small number of patients is envisioned for registration. C-PTBE-01 may be eligible for 7 years
of orphan drug protection in the US and 10 years of orphan drug protection in the EU upon orphan drug designation and
receiving market authorization. Curatis Group may apply for a Rare Pediatric Disease Voucher for C-PTBE-01.
C-AM-01 for the prevention of severe migraine with aura ("MwA") - next major development step: clinical phase IIb study
An aura typically is a perceptual disturbance and includes a wide range of neurological symptoms. In some patients,
changes in the cortex area of the brain cause changes in their sight, such as dark spots, colored spots, sparkles or
'stars', and zigzag lines. Numbness or tingling, weakness, and dizziness or vertigo (the feeling of everything
spinning) can also happen. Speech and hearing can also be disturbed, and sufferers have reported memory changes,
feelings of fear and confusion, and more rarely, partial paralysis or fainting.
Migraine with Aura is a high unmet medical need indication. There is no approved preventive treatment that specifically
targets MwA and its associated headache. MwA can cause significant disability on patients and compromise their daily
life activity. MwA attacks are comparable to epileptic attacks in terms of unexpectedness and instant disability. MwA
patients are 3 times more likely to have an ischemic stroke.
Two Phase IIa clinical proof-of-concept studies suggest a reduction in the number of auras with C-AM-01. C-AM-01 has
been granted a US patent covering its use and dosing regimen. In the EU, C-AM-01 would benefit from 10 years of data
exclusivity and market protection.
C-MOH-01 for the treatment and prevention of medication overuse headache ("MOH") - next major development step:
clinical phase IIb study
Headache is one of the most prevalent disorders in human society and is responsible for substantial socioeconomic
expenses. A general problem of headache treatment is the overuse of drugs. Patients, who tend to use acute medication
to treat their headache on a frequent basis, like patients who report a history of migraine as well as patients that
report tension type headache (TTH) are predestined for medication overuse headache (MOH). Instead of curing the pain,
===
(MORE TO FOLLOW) Dow Jones Newswires

April 26, 2024 01:00 ET (05:00 GMT)