EPICC HPV Elimination Partnership being supplied PROCEEDxFLOQ QAPs to Support Test AccuracyMISSISSAUGA, Ontario and MELBOURNE, Australia, March 17, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Microbix Biosystems Inc. (TSX: MBX, OTCQX: MBXBF, Microbix®), a life sciences innovator, manufacturer, and exporter, and the Australian Centre for the Prevention of Cervical Cancer (ACPCC) with its Australian HPV Reference Laboratory, announce that they have signed a Memorandum Of Understanding (MOU) under which Microbix will supply its PROCEEDx™FLOQ® brand Quality Assessment Products (QAPs™) to support quality management of testing for high-risk Human Papillomavirus (HPV) infections, which cause most cases of cervical cancer. The MOU signing took place in Microbix’s exhibition booth at the 30th annual congress of the European Research Organization on Genital Infection and Neoplasia (EUROGIN 2025) in Porto, Portugal (March 16-19 2025). The ACPCC is part of an established consortium, delivering a program called the Elimination Partnership in the Indo-Pacific for Cervical Cancer (EPICC), with support from the Australian Government and philanthropic partners. The consortium delivering EPICC and its affiliated programs aims to improve the prevention, diagnosis, and treatment of cervical cancer in the Indo-Pacific – working toward the elimination of this largely preventable disease that continues to be a major health crisis in the region. EPICC is a humanitarian and market-shaping program – the underlying model having already been proven in countries such as Malaysia, Papua New Guinea, Vanuatu and Tuvalu. Together with affiliate programs, this phase is extending the EPICC model to add Timor-Leste, Solomon Islands, Kiribati, The Republic of the Marshall Islands, Samoa, Tonga, Fiji and Nauru – for a total of 12 Indo-Pacific nations. Associate Professor David Hawkes, Director of Medical Microbiology at ACPCC, stated that, “Cervical cancer is preventable by vaccination and HPV screening, but remains a leading cause of death for women in the Indo-Pacific. EPICC aims to reduce the human toll of cervical cancer across the region. A key element to achieve this is making well-controlled molecular HPV tests readily available. Microbix HPV-directed PROCEEDxFLOQ and REDxFLOQ QAPs provide excellent QMS support for such testing by fully emulating patient-specimens while being both highly-stable and non-infectious.” Phil Casselli, SVP of Sales & Business Development at Microbix also commented, “Microbix is proud to be supporting ACPCC, the EPICC consortium, and their affiliated programs, by providing the world’s best products for helping ensure the quality of tests for high-risk HPV. With both clinical self-collection and quality controls using Copan FLOQSwabs, ACPCC and EPICC are proving that everyone can and should receive access to accurate and timely tests to assess their risk of HPV-driven cancer. We are delighted to provide PROCEEDxFLOQ QAPs for high-risk HPV to this humanitarian program and further demonstrate the value of Microbix products in helping to ensure test quality around the world.” Enquiries about Microbix QAPs can be e-mailed to customer.service@microbix.com. Enquiries about the ACPCC and the EPICC Program can be emailed to mcoleman@acpcc.org.au About Microbix Biosystems Inc. Microbix Biosystems Inc. creates proprietary biological products for human health, with over 120 skilled employees and sales now targeting C$ 2.0 million or more per month. It makes and exports a wide range of critical ingredients and devices for the global diagnostics industry, notably antigens for immunoassays and its laboratory quality assessment products (QAPs™) that support clinical lab proficiency testing, enable assay development and validation, or help ensure the quality of clinical diagnostic workflows. Its antigens drive the antibody tests of approximately 100 diagnostics makers, while QAPs are sold to clinical lab accreditation organizations, diagnostics companies, and clinical labs. Microbix QAPs are now available in over 30 countries, supported by a network of international distributors. Microbix is ISO 9001 & 13485 accredited, U.S. FDA registered, Australian TGA registered, Health Canada establishment licensed, and provides IVDR-compliant CE marked products. Microbix also applies its biological expertise and infrastructure to develop other proprietary products and technologies, most notably Kinlytic® urokinase, a biologic thrombolytic drug used to treat blood clots, and reagents or media to support molecular diagnostic testing (e.g., its DxTM® for patient-sample collection). Microbix is traded on the TSX and OTCQX, and headquartered in Mississauga, Ontario, Canada. About the Australian Centre for the Prevention of Cervical Cancer (ACPCC) The ACPCC is committed to preventing cancer and infectious diseases through excellence in the provision of population health services that support screening and vaccination, and has been operating for 60 years. ACPCC works with Australian and international partners to achieve the goal of eliminating cervical cancer as a public health problem, primarily through vaccination. The team are committed to supporting the effective delivery of HPV vaccination and cervical screening programs to ensure women and people with a cervix everywhere can be free from cervical cancer. It’s anticipated that Australia will be the first country in the world to achieve elimination by 2035. Read more at: www.acpcc.org.au About EPICC and the EPICC Consortium The Elimination Partnership in the Indo-Pacific for Cervical Cancer (EPICC) program responds to the global three-pillar strategy to eliminate cervical cancer, bringing together a consortium of leading Australian cancer research and implementation partners and global collaborators with Ministries of Health in the Indo-Pacific region to advance their national cervical cancer elimination strategies. The EPICC consortium is led by the University of Sydney and includes the Kirby Institute, the Australian Centre for Cervical Cancer Prevention and Family Planning Australia. The program is supported by the Australian Government and philanthropic partners. Forward-Looking Information This news release includes “forward-looking information,” as such term is defined in applicable securities laws. Forward-looking information includes, without limitation, discussion of the tests or QAPs, ACPCC and the EPICC program or their relevance, Microbix’s products or services, business and business results, goals or outlook, risks associated with financial results and stability, development projects such as those referenced in its presentations, regulatory compliance and approvals, access to and sales to foreign jurisdictions, engineering and construction, production (including control over costs, quality, quantity or timeliness of delivery), currency exchange rates, maintaining adequate working capital or raising new capital on acceptable terms or at all, and other similar statements about anticipated future events, conditions or results that are not historical facts. These statements reflect management’s current estimates, beliefs, intentions, and expectations; they are not guarantees of future performance. Microbix cautions that all forward-looking information is inherently uncertain and actual performance may be affected by many material factors, any number of which are beyond its control. Accordingly, actual future events, conditions and results may differ materially from the estimates, beliefs, intentions, and expectations expressed or implied in the forward-looking information. All statements are made as of the date of this news release and represent Microbix’s judgement as of the date of this new release, and it is under no obligation to update or alter any forward-looking information. Please visit https://microbix.com or www.sedar.com for recent Microbix news and filings. For further information, please contact Microbix at: Cameron Groome, CEO(905) 361-8910Jim Currie, CFO(905) 361-8910Deborah Honig, Investor RelationsAdelaide Capital Markets(647) 203-8793 ir@microbix.com Copyright © 2025 Microbix Biosystems Inc. Microbix®, DxTM®, Kinlytic®, PROCEEDx™, QAPs™, and REDx™ are trademarks of Microbix Biosystems Inc.PROCEEDx™FLOQ® and REDx™FLOQ® are trademarks of Microbix in collaboration with Copan Italia S.p.A.COPAN®, FLOQ®, and FLOQSwab® are trademarks of Copan Italia S.p.A.
