With effect from February 1, 2021, ExpreS[2]ion has recruited Dr. Mette Thorn as Vice President of Preclinical Development, and Dr. Lars J. Petersen as Medical Director, Oncology. From within, Dr. Max M. Søgaard will assume the position of Vice President, R&D and Technology. Furthermore, ExpreS[2]ion will refocus existing key roles in research and development and clinical planning/management. These organizational changes are made to facilitate the further advancement of the company's pipeline development projects, with clinical trials planned within the next 1-2 years for COVID-19, breast cancer, influenza and malaria.

Dr. Wian de Jongh, CSO & Co-Founder of ExpreS[2]ion, will now focus full-time on his role as CEO of AdaptVac and therefore leave his position as CSO of ExpreS[2]ion. At the same time, he will join a newly established Scientific Advisory Board that will advise ExpreS[2]ion in matters related to the company's overall scientific direction.

The organizational changes are thus implemented through a combination of recruitments and promotions of existing employees and consultants. The added personnel costs due to these changes are well within the financial planning set forth in the prospectus published in connection with ExpreS[2]ion's oversubscribed rights issue that was conducted in October 2020.

ExpreS[2]ion's CEO Bent Frandsen comments: 
"Throughout 2020, ExpreS[2]ion has achieved substantial progress towards establishing a strong pipeline of innovative vaccine projects based on our own ExpreS[2] platform and, when relevant, our joint venture AdaptVac's cVLP platform. Currently, our pipeline includes projects for COVID-19 (licensed to Bavarian Nordic), breast cancer, influenza and malaria, and we plan to conduct or support clinical studies for all of these projects in the next couple of years. To execute on this crucial next step of our ambitious strategy, we are now strengthening our organizational structure within project management, science & technology, preclinical development and clinical planning/management. Further key recruitments and/or refinements of roles may occur as we come closer to conducting and supporting multiple clinical programs. We certainly have an exciting and promising 2021 ahead of us, as we continue to fight some of the most important global health challenges of our time."

ExpreS[2]ion's CEO Bent Frandsen adds:          
"With Dr. Wian de Jongh being able to increase his focus on advancing our joint venture partner AdaptVac's operations, while also becoming a member of our Scientific Advisory Board, he will continue to be closely linked to ExpreS[2]ion and the scientific direction of the company. This is important, as Wian has been an outstanding asset for ExpreS[2]ion throughout the company's history, including co-inventing our unique ExpreS2™ technology, as well as playing a major role in initiating and managing the COVID-19 vaccine project."

Dr. Wian de Jongh adds:

"I'm extremely proud of how far ExpreS[2]ion has come since our beginnings in 2010. The malaria and COVID-19 vaccines in clinical development clearly demonstrate the amazing scientific talents of our team. I now look forward to focusing on AdaptVac's ground breaking technology and vaccine programs, while continuing to support ExpreS[2]ion as part of the Scientific Advisory Board."

Short biographies of the new amendments to the management team

Dr Mette Thorn, Vice President of Preclinical Development

Dr. Thorn holds a PhD in Immunology, and a MSc in Chemical Engineering, from the Technical University of Denmark. She has 20 years of preclinical development and management experience, among others in vaccine development within cancer and infectious diseases. Mette has extensive research science experience from Biotech and Pharma, including Astion Pharma, SSI, Symphogen, Novo Nordisk, Bioneer, Biocare, and CBio.

Dr Lars Jelstrup Petersen, Medical Director, Oncology

Dr. Petersen is MD (Medical Doctorate) and holds a Doctor of Medical Science (DMSc) degree in immuno-pharmacology from the University of Copenhagen and Certificate in Business Administration (CBA) from AVT Business School, Copenhagen, Denmark. He has more than 20 years of drug development experience and has served as clinical development executive in Genmab, Abbott, Cytovac, ROS Therapeutics, and 2APharma, as well as a long academic career being Clinical Professor (Chair) in Nuclear Medicine from Aalborg University, Denmark.

Dr. Max M. Søgaard, Vice President, R&D and Technology

Dr Søgaard holds a PhD in Biochemistry from the University College London, UK, and a MSc in Molecular Biology from the University of Aarhus, Denmark. He has 20 years of scientific research and process development experience, having served the last 8 years at ExpreS[2]ion in roles from Sr. Scientist (Downstream) to VP, and prior to that 12 years of academic research focused on structural biology and molecular biophysics with an emphasis on infectious diseases applications. Max heads the internal R&D to extend ExpreS[2]ion's unique capabilities and know-how in applying the ExpreS2™ technology for customers and own vaccine development.  

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This press release constitutes inside information that ExpreS2ion Biotech Holding AB (publ) is obliged to make public pursuant to the EU Market Abuse Regulation 596/2014. The information was sent for publication, through the agency of the contact persons set out above, at the time stated by the Company's news distributor, Cision, at the publication of this press release.