PharmaDrug Provides Research Results and Initiates IND-Enabling Studies for Cepharanthine in the Treatment of Multiple Cancers

• Results of the 4 cancer types where cepharanthine provides exceptional potency and/or synergistic inhibitory effects when combined with standard of care (SoC) chemotherapy provides support for next development stage
• Advancing Cepharanthine (PD-001) to IND-enabling efficacy studies to support potential FDA clinical studies in 2022

Toronto, Ontario–(Newsfile Corp. – November 18, 2021) – PharmaDrug Inc. (CSE: PHRX) (OTCQB: LMLLF) (“PharmaDrug” or the “Company“), a specialty pharmaceutical company focused on the research, development and commercialization of controlled-substances and natural medicines such as psychedelics, cannabis and naturally-derived approved drugs, is pleased to announce positive research results for their preclinical cancer study which evaluated the effectiveness of cepharanthine-2HCl alone, or when used in combination with standard of care (SoC) chemotherapy on four undisclosed cancers. The Company is now focused on advancing to IND-enabling studies to support future FDA clinical studies in 2022.

Further to the Company’s research update on its large in vitro cancer screen studies, the Company had previously identified a short list of 23 cancers that were highly responsive to cepharanthine-2HCl. Four instances of drug synergy (cepharanthine+chemotherapy) were revealed in the latest drug combination study. Cancer cell types and standard of care (SoC) treatments remain confidential for the purpose of filing subsequent intellectual property, but here the company provides results for the four most promising types of cancer tested. The inhibitory concentration of cepharanthine (CEPN) as well as experimental positive control required to kill fifty percent of the cells (IC50) is displayed below. Lower IC50 values represent greater potency of a drug for a particular cancer. Cepharanthine displays favorable IC50 values against multiple cancer types and its safety profile in humans is supported by multiple decades of human use in Japan for alternate indications. As noted in the table below, esophageal cancer was approximately 5-times more responsive to cepharanthine than the experimental positive control; a clinically approved chemotherapeutic agent.

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