Aethlon Medical Enters Into Materials Transfer Agreement for Santersus AG's NucleoCapture and HemoNucleoCapture Devices

Aethlon Medical Will Perform Pre-Clinical Studies to Explore Potential Synergies With its First-in-Class Hemopurifier^® Blood Filtration System

SAN DIEGO, Feb. 21, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- Aethlon Medical, Inc. (Nasdaq: AEMD), a medical therapeutic company focused on developing products to treat cancer and life-threatening infectious diseases, today announced that it entered into a Materials Transfer Agreement (MTA) with Santersus AG, a Zurich-London based, privately held therapeutic medical device company, for Santersus' NucleoCapture and HemoNucleoCapture devices.

Under the terms of the MTA, Santersus will supply Aethlon with NucleoCapture and HemoNucleoCapture devices, designed to remove Neutrophil Extracellular Traps (NETs), which are toxic to tissues and organs and are implicated in the pathophysiology of cancer, sepsis, autoimmune diseases, such as lupus, and ischemia reperfusion injury in organ transplantation.

Aethlon will perform initial pre-clinical studies to examine the NucleoCapture and HemoNucleoCapture devices, alone, and in combination with Aethlon's Hemopurifier® -- a therapeutic blood filtration system designed to bind and remove harmful exosomes and life-threatening viruses from blood and other biological fluids -- to assess their ability to remove important targets in samples from cancer patients, as well as from perfusates from kidneys that have undergone machine perfusion as part of the renal transplantation process.

"We look forward to initiating pre-clinical studies shortly, to expand upon the data that Santersus has generated in sepsis and liver and lung transplantation, and more importantly, to explore potential synergies with our Hemopurifier, initially in oncology and renal transplantation, as well as other potential indications," stated James Frakes, Interim Chief Executive Officer and Chief Financial Officer of Aethlon Medical. "Our belief is that the NETs removed by the NucleoCapture and HemoNucleoCapture devices, in combination with the clinical mediators removed by our Hemopurifier, could have an additive or synergistic effect in both the cancer and kidney transplant settings. The signing of the MTA represents an important milestone for both companies, as it is the first step toward a potential future collaboration."

"Our collaboration with Aethlon has provided us with research and development partners with expertise and capabilities to help  advance our NucleoCapture technology platform forward in important fields, such as oncology and kidney transplantation. We are excited to continue building on the progress we've made in Santersus thus far and on taking the next steps forward in executing on our plans to advance NucleoCapture technology," commented Scott Maguire, Chairman of Santersus.  "NETs are being increasingly recognized as an important element in cancer progression and metastasis. We believe extracorporeal removal of NETs using NucleoCapture either alone or in combination with Hemopurifier technology might create a transformational treatment option for patients receiving immune checkpoint inhibitors or CAR T cell therapies."

About Santersus AG

Santersus AG is a clinical stage privately held therapeutic apheresis Anglo-Swiss company. In clinical trials, Santersus' flagship medical device, NucleoCapture, has demonstrated the removal from patient blood of Neutrophil Extracellular Traps (NETs). NETs are fibers of decondensed DNA decorated with cytotoxic proteins that have been released from activated neutrophils. NETs have been recognized as one of the major driving factors in the development of sepsis, cancer, acute organ failure, autoimmune flares, and neurodegeneration, including Alzheimer's disease. NucleoCapture has been granted designation as a Breakthrough Device by the US Food & Drug Administration (FDA). NucleoCapture blood purification technology is based on biocompatible, highly porous polymer beads conjugated with proprietary human recombinant histone H1.3 protein. Histone H1.3 protein was created in nature to act as the ultimate human DNA binding and compacting protein with single digit nanomolar DNA binding constants. As a result, in clinical trials Santersus has demonstrated that a single pass of NETs contaminated blood through the NucleoCapture device results in over 95% removal of NETs. Santersus has developed NucleoCapture for the treatment of sepsis, primary graft dysfunction after lung transplantation, reconditioning of extended criteria donor organs for liver and lung transplantation and Alzheimer's disease.

Additional information can be found at www.Santersus.com

About Aethlon and the Hemopurifier^®

Aethlon Medical is a medical therapeutic company focused on developing the Hemopurifier, a clinical stage immunotherapeutic device which is designed to combat cancer and life-threatening viral infections and for use in organ transplantation. In human studies, the Hemopurifier has demonstrated the removal of life-threatening viruses and in pre-clinical studies, the Hemopurifier has demonstrated the removal of harmful exosomes from biological fluids, utilizing its proprietary lectin-based technology. This action has potential applications in cancer, where exosomes may promote immune suppression and metastasis, and in life-threatening infectious diseases. The Hemopurifier is a U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) designated Breakthrough Device indicated for the treatment of individuals with advanced or metastatic cancer who are either unresponsive to or intolerant of standard of care therapy, and with cancer types in which exosomes have been shown to participate in the development or severity of the disease. The Hemopurifier also holds an FDA Breakthrough Device designation and an open Investigational Device Exemption (IDE) application related to the treatment of life-threatening viruses that are not addressed with approved therapies.

Additional information can be found at www.AethlonMedical.com.

Forward Looking Statements

This press release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933 and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 that involve risks and uncertainties. Statements containing words such as "may," "believe," "anticipate," "expect," "intend," "plan," "project," "will," "projections," "estimate," "potentially" or similar expressions constitute forward-looking statements. Such forward-looking statements are subject to significant risks and uncertainties and actual results may differ materially from the results anticipated in the forward-looking statements. These forward-looking statements are based upon Aethlon's current expectations and involve assumptions that may never materialize or may prove to be incorrect. Factors that may contribute to such differences include, without limitation, the Company's ability to successfully raise additional capital and to complete development of the Hemopurifier and to successfully demonstrate the utility of the Hemopurifier in cancer and infectious diseases; the Company's ability to demonstrate synergies of the Hemopurifier with the NucleoCapture and HemoNucleoCapture devices; the Company's ability to enter into a future collaboration with Santersus; the Company's ability to complete the internal binding study of relevant extracellular vesicles; the Company's ability to commence and manage its clinical trials; and other potential risks. The foregoing list of risks and uncertainties is illustrative, but is not exhaustive. Additional factors that could cause results to differ materially from those anticipated in forward-looking statements can be found under the caption "Risk Factors" in the Company's Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended March 31, 2023, and in the Company's other filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission, including its quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q. All forward-looking statements contained in this press release speak only as of the date on which they were made. Except as may be required by law, the Company does not intend, nor does it undertake any duty, to update this information to reflect future events or circumstances.

Company Contact:
Jim Frakes
Interim Chief Executive Officer and Chief Financial Officer
Aethlon Medical, Inc.
Jfrakes@aethlonmedical.com

Investor Contact:
Susan Noonan
S.A. Noonan Communications, LLC
susan@sanoonan.com
917-513-5303

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SOURCE Aethlon Medical, Inc.