Oravax and Genomma Lab Announce JV to Commercialize Oral COVID-19 Vaccine in Mexico and Latin America

Genomma Lab will leverage its extensive supply chain capabilities, partnerships and market presence in Latin America to support the business development process and vaccine roll-out throughout the region.Prabuddha Kundu, CEO of Premas Biotech said, We sees this as a great opportunity to address the Covid-19 pandemic through an oral vaccine, which is a VLP virus-like-particle approach to vaccines, developed using our D-CryptTM technology.

Gurugram, Haryana, India – Business Wire India • Premas Biotech is the developer of the technology for the Covid-19 vaccine and a shareholder in Oravax Medical Inc • Millions of people in the region could benefit from the COVID-19 vaccine candidate- faster, easier, without the cold chain: The Oravax Oral Vaccine • The new partnership builds on the respective strengths of Oravax Medical and Genomma Lab to create compelling value for both companies and their stakeholders ​ Premas Biotech together with their partners Oramed Pharmaceuticals Inc. (Nasdaq/TASE: ORMP) (www.oramed.com), a clinical-stage pharmaceutical company focused on the development of oral drug delivery systems, and Genomma Lab Internacional, S.A.B. de C.V. (BMV: LABB) (www.genommalab.com/en/), a leading pharmaceutical and personal care product company in Latin America with an expanding international presence, today announced the formation of a 50/50 joint venture between Genomma Lab and Oravax Medical Inc. (www.ora-vax.com), a company Premas Biotech has shareholding in, to develop and commercialize Oravax’s oral COVID-19 vaccine candidate in Mexico.

Oravax’s oral VLP vaccine, developed by Gurgaon based Premas Biotech, targets three SARS CoV-2 virus surface proteins, including proteins less susceptible to mutation, thus making the oral vaccine potentially more effective against current and future variants of the COVID-19 virus. If approved, it would be used either as a standalone or as a booster for previously vaccinated individuals. The oral method of administration may result in greater safety by reducing potential side effects. Oravax's VLP vaccine technology is highly scalable for manufacturing and is easily transferable for wide scale logistical distribution as there is no need for freezer storage.

Genomma Lab is expected to contribute resources to the joint venture’s oral COVID-19 vaccine development, as well as clinical, regulatory, and commercial activities in Mexico supported by close strategic cooperation between the two companies. Genomma Lab will leverage its extensive supply chain capabilities, partnerships and market presence in Latin America to support the business development process and vaccine roll-out throughout the region.

Prabuddha Kundu, CEO of Premas Biotech said, “We sees this as a great opportunity to address the Covid-19 pandemic through an oral vaccine, which is a VLP (virus-like-particle) approach to vaccines, developed using our D-CryptTM technology. Ours is the only triple antigen vaccine for COVID-19, and coupled with Oramed’s Protein Oral Delivery technology, it makes geographical outreach and use as primary or booster vaccine, a much easier and rapid process. With Genomma’s strong sales network and local presence in Mexico and Latin America, we hope to see this candidate moving through regulatory process and into commercial availability soon.” “We are very excited to be partnering with Genomma. The synergies between our respective companies’ core competencies made it clear that the combination of our particular strengths represents a unique and significant opportunity. The winning combination of Oravax’s cutting edge science and Genomma’s exceptional sales and distribution network throughout Mexico and Latin America, as well as their local regulatory expertise, results in a powerful venture,” stated Nadav Kidron CEO of Oramed and Chairman of Oravax.

Rodrigo Herrera Chairman of Genomma Lab, commented, “The joint venture announced today represents a unique opportunity for Genomma and its stakeholders. We are thrilled to be forming this strategic alliance with Oramed to bring Oravax’s next-generation oral vaccine and booster candidate once developed and authorized, to Mexico and potentially throughout Latin America to protect our populations from the COVID-19 virus. Based on our initial discussion with the authorities, we are already beginning to prepare for a Phase 2 trial immediately upon successful completion of the Phase 1 trial of the oral vaccine in South Africa. Oravax's oral vaccine's superior target profile makes it an ideal candidate for an expedited approval process (Emergency Use Approval). We are excited to play a pivotal role in bringing this revolutionary solution to a vaccine market of an estimated 662 million Latin Americans. Our partnership with Oravax is therefore closely aligned with Genomma’s mission to empower people in 20 countries throughout the Americas to have excellent health and well-being.” About Premas Biotech Premas Biotech develops novel technologies and partners with global biopharmaceutical companies to build and develop novel biotherapeutic & vaccine candidates. Premas' key focus areas are infectious diseases, cancer, metabolic disorders and inflammation. Besides D-CryptTM the difficult to express proteins expression platform, Premas’ leading technologies include Axtex-4D™: an ex-vivo tissueoid generation platform and C-Qwence™: a fully human naive India based scFv antibody library. Further information is available on the Company’s website: www.premasbiotech.com About Oravax Medical Inc.

Oravax was established in 2021 by Oramed Pharmaceuticals Inc., the largest shareholder in Oravax, along with Premas Biotech and certain other shareholders with a mission to bring an oral COVID-19 vaccine to the market. Oravax combines cutting-edge vaccine technology acquired from Premas Biotech and the proprietary POD™ oral delivery technology of Oramed Pharmaceuticals. For more information, please visit www.ora-vax.com About Genomma Lab Internacional Genomma Lab Internacional S.A.B. de C.V, is a leading pharmaceutical and personal care products company in Mexico with an increasing international presence. Genomma develops, sells, and markets a broad range of premium branded products, many of which are leaders in their categories. The company operates in 20 countries in the Americas, selling over 50 brands through more than 300,000 points of sale. Genomma Lab’s shares are listed on the Mexican Stock Exchange under the ticker “LAB B” (Bloomberg: LABB:MM). For more information, please visit www.genommalab.com/en/ 

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