Armed Forces Medical College

Topline data now projected in early Q4 2024 Rohit Loomba, MD, MHSc to serve as Principal Investigator SOUTH SAN FRANCISCO, Calif., May 21, 2024 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Aligos Therapeutics, Inc. (Nasdaq: ALGS, “Aligos”), a clinical stage biopharmaceutical company focused on developing novel therapeutics to address unmet medical needs in liver and viral diseases, today announced that it has completed enrollment in the ALG-055009 Phase 2a HERALD study for metabolic dysfunction-associated steatohepatitis (MASH) with topline safety and efficacy data anticipated in early Q4 2024. The company also announced that Dr. Rohit Loomba will serve as Principal Investigator for the study. “Completing enrollment in our first Phase 2a trial is a tremendous accomplishment for the Aligos team,” said Lawrence Blatt, Ph.D., MBA, Chairman, President, and Chief Executive Officer at Aligos Therapeutics. “We thank the patients, their families and our investigators for their efforts. In addition, I’d like to welcome Dr. Rohit Loomba as our Principal Investigator for the HERALD study. Dr. Loomba has a broad track record of contributions to the MASH field, having pioneered the use of MRI-PDFF as a noninvasive test to assess liver steatosis. We look forward to his insights and contributions to the HERALD study and beyond.” Dr. Loomba is the Chief of the Division of Gastroenterology and Hepatology and Professor of Medicine at the University of California, San Diego (UCSD). He is also the Director of the UCSD NAFLD Research Center. Dr. Loomba completed a fellowship in gastroenterology at the UC San Diego School of Medicine and a fellowship in hepatology at the National Institutes of Health (NIH) National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases (NIDDK). Dr. Loomba earned his medical degree from the Armed Forces Medical College in India and a Master of Health Science in clinical research from Duke University School of Medicine. “I am pleased to serve as the Principal Investigator for the Phase 2a HERALD study,” stated Rohit Loomba, MD, MHSc, Chief, Division of Gastroenterology and Hepatology, University of California, San Diego. “The excellent potency and PK profile makes ALG-055009 a compelling potential treatment option for MASH patients. I look forward to working with the team to complete this study.” HERALD (NCT06342947) is a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial that has enrolled approximately 100 subjects with presumed MASH and stage 1-3 liver fibrosis (F1-F3). Subjects were randomized to receive one of four doses (0.3, 0.5, 0.7, 0.9 mg) of ALG-055009 or placebo (~20 subjects/arm) given orally once daily for 12 weeks. The primary endpoint is relative change in liver fat content by Magnetic Resonance Imaging Proton Density Fat Fraction (MRI-PDFF) at week 12. Safety, pharmacokinetics (PK) and other non-invasive biomarkers/tests previously shown to be impacted by treatment with thyroid hormone receptor beta (THR-ß) agonists will also be evaluated. About ALG-055009 ALG-055009 appears to be a best-in-class thyroid hormone receptor beta (THR-ß) agonist discovered by Aligos for the treatment of metabolic dysfunction-associated steatohepatitis (MASH). ALG-055009 recently completed a Phase 1 first in human study, with preliminary data after single and multiple daily doses showing that ALG-055009 was well tolerated, had dose proportional pharmacokinetics (PK) and low variability, and demonstrated expected thyromimetic effects. Aligos has fully enrolled the Phase 2a HERALD study of ALG-055009 to assess safety, PK, and multiple efficacy biomarkers such as Magnetic Resonance Imaging Proton Density Fat Fraction (MRI-PDFF). Topline safety and efficacy data from this study are expected in early Q4 2024. About MASH One of the effects of improper diet and insufficient exercise is the accumulation of fatty deposits in the liver, referred to as metabolic dysfunction-associated steatotic liver disease (MASLD), which was estimated to occur in approximately 30% of the worldwide population as of 2019. An estimated 1.5% to 6.5% of the global population is believed to have an ongoing inflammatory response to these excess fat deposits, which is referred to as metabolic dysfunction-associated steatohepatitis (MASH). In the United States alone, the prevalence of MASH is projected to increase from approximately 16.5 million in 2015 to 27.0 million in 2030. In the absence of changes in diet and exercise, the inflammation inherent in MASH persists and may result in progressive fibrosis of the liver, which may result in cirrhosis. These fibrotic changes are associated with numerous morbidities including recurrent hospitalization for complications of cirrhosis, hepatocellular carcinoma, need for liver transplant, and death. The first drug to treat this growing patient population, a THR-ß agonist, was recently approved. About AligosAligos Therapeutics, Inc. is a clinical stage biopharmaceutical company that was founded in 2018 with the mission to become a world leader in the treatment of liver and viral diseases. Aligos’ strategy is to harness the deep expertise and decades of drug development experience its team has in liver and viral diseases to discover and develop potentially best-in-class therapeutics for metabolic dysfunction-associated steatohepatitis (MASH) and viruses with high unmet medical need such as hepatitis B and coronaviruses. Forward-Looking Statements This press release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of the U.S. Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Any statements in this press release that are not historical facts may be considered “forward-looking statements,” including without limitation, statements regarding Aligos’ research and development activities, including the expected timing of topline data from the Phase 2a HERALD Study. Such forward looking statements are subject to substantial risks and uncertainties that could cause our development programs, future results, performance, or achievements to differ materially from those anticipated in the forward-looking statements. Such risks and uncertainties include, without limitation, risks and uncertainties inherent in the drug development process, including Aligos’ clinical-stage of development, the process of designing and conducting clinical trials, the regulatory approval processes, and other matters that could affect the sufficiency of Aligos’ capital resources to fund operations. For a further description of the risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ from those anticipated in these forward-looking statements, as well as risks relating to the business of Aligos in general, see Aligos’ Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission on May 7, 2024 and its future periodic reports to be filed or submitted with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Except as required by law, Aligos undertakes no obligation to update any forward-looking statements to reflect new information, events or circumstances, or to reflect the occurrence of unanticipated events. Contacts CompanyJordyn TaraziVice President, Investor Relations & Corporate Communications(650) 910-0427jtarazi@Aligos.com MediaMichael Fitzhugh LifeSci Communications mfitzhugh@lifescicomms.com

CU Medicine develops severe hypoglycemia predictive AI Researchers from the Faculty of Medicine at the Chinese University of Hong Kong (CU Medicine) have utilised anonymised big data from the Hospital Authority Data Collaboration Laboratory to develop a new machine learning model that can predict the risk of severe hypoglycemia among older diabetic adults. They analysed about 1.5 million records of more than 360,000 senior individuals with diabetes from 2013-2018. Based on the XGBoost machine learning algorithm, the risk prediction model uses 258 predictors, including demographics, admissions, and diagnoses, to predict severe hypoglycemia events requiring hospitalisation in the next 12 months. Besides prolonged hospitalisation, severe hypoglycemia is also associated with an increased risk of falls, cardiovascular disease, dementia, and all-cause mortality, CU Medicine noted. Achieving an 85% positive predictive value in a study, the model can be potentially integrated into EHR decision support systems for pre-emptive interventions, such as correcting the timing and dosage of insulin injections or changing to diabetes medications with lower hypoglycemic potential. Indian military looks to develop diagnosis support AI India's Armed Forces Medical Services has partnered with the Indian Institute of Technology in Kanpur, Uttar Pradesh for the joint research and development of technology solutions addressing the health problems of soldiers deployed in difficult terrains. Under their memorandum of understanding, IIT Kanpur will also help the Armed Forces Medical College's Armed Forces Centre for Computational Medicine in creating diagnostic AI models. Alodokter joins Indonesia's digital health mission Digital health company Alodokter is cooperating with the Indonesian government in expanding access to health services across the country through telemedicine. It signed a memorandum of understanding with the Ministry of Health to collaborate in such areas as raising healthcare workers' capacity by providing professional credit units; health communications and education; conducting health development surveys; and providing telemedicine services. Mahidol Univesity to trial Japanese endoscopic AI Mahidol University in Thailand is collaborating with Japanese startup AI Medical Service (AIM) to assess the applicability of the latter's endoscopic AI in the Thai setting. This comes as AIM looks to expand its market presence globally after receiving regulatory approvals in Japan and Singapore over the past four months. Indonesian university to test Korean medical AI for lung disease, stroke diagnosis The Universitas Gadjah Mada Academic Hospital in Indonesia will also conduct a clinical trial of three diagnosis support AI from South Korean medical AI company, Deepnoid. Under their memorandum of understanding, the hospital will be testing Deepnoid's diagnosis aid software for multiple lung diseases, lung nodules, and brain aneurysms for 18 months. This comes as the hospital, which saw a two-fold rise in X-ray, MRI, and CT readings over the past three years, is bracing for growing demand for imaging while only having 22 readers to date. The results of this clinical trial will inform Deepnoid's application for a regulatory licence in Indonesia, the company shared.

Practicing yoga nidra -- a kind of mindfulness training -- might improve sleep, cognition, learning, and memory, even in novices, according to a pilot study. After a two-week intervention with a cohort of novice practitioners, the researchers found that the percentage of delta-waves in deep sleep increased and that all tested cognitive abilities improved. Practicing yoga nidra -- a kind of mindfulness training -- might improve sleep, cognition, learning, and memory, even in novices, according to a pilot study publishing in the open-access journal PLOS ONE on December 13 by Karuna Datta of the Armed Forces Medical College in India, and colleagues. After a two-week intervention with a cohort of novice practitioners, the researchers found that the percentage of delta-waves in deep sleep increased and that all tested cognitive abilities improved. Unlike more active forms of yoga, which focus on physical postures, breathing, and muscle control, yoga nidra guides people into a state of conscious relaxation while they are lying down. While it has reported to improve sleep and cognitive ability, those reports were based more on subjective measures than on objective data. The new study used objective polysomnographic measures of sleep and a battery of cognitive tests. Measurements were taken before and after two weeks of yoga nidra practice, which was carried out during the daytime using a 20 minute audio recording. Among other things, polysomnography measures brain activity to determine how long each sleep stage lasts and how frequently each stage occurs. After two weeks of yoga nidra, the researchers observed that participants exhibited a significantly increased sleep efficiency and percentage of delta-waves in deep sleep. They also saw faster responses in all cognitive tests with no loss in accuracy and faster and more accurate responses in tasks including tests of working memory, abstraction, fear and anger recognition, and spatial learning and memory tasks. The findings support previous studies which link delta-wave sleep to improved sleep quality as well as better attention and memory. The authors believe their study provides objective evidence that yoga nidra is an effective means of improving sleep quality and cognitive performance. Yoga nidra is a low-cost and highly accessible activity from which many people might therefore benefit. The authors add: "Yoga nidra practice improves sleep and makes brain processing faster. Accuracy also increased, especially with learning and memory related tasks."