Marvel Biosciences' Lead Drug Candidate MB-204 Demonstrates a 400% Increase in the Survival Rate of Animals Treated with a High Dose of the Cancer Treatment Cis-Platinum

Calgary, Alberta--(Newsfile Corp. - November 22, 2022) - Marvel Biosciences Corp. (TSXV: MRVL) and its wholly owned subsidiary, Marvel Biotechnology Inc. (collectively the "Company" or "Marvel"), is pleased to announce that in a recent study done by the Company, its lead drug candidate MB-204 demonstrated a 400% increase in the survival rate of animals being treated by high doses of chemotherapy treatment, cis-platinum.

"We are seeing great momentum being built around our lead drug candidate MB-204, which, as previously reported, has shown significant potential to help patients suffering from Alzheimer's and depression," said Rod Matheson, CEO of Marvel Biosciences. "This recent study supports a significant increase in our market opportunity to also help cancer patients improve their quality of life and reduce organ damage that results from the very effective but highly toxic chemotherapy treatment, cis-platinum."

Cis-platinum is commonly used for a wide range of cancers and is the most powerful chemotherapeutic treatment available today. Unfortunately, it has multiple potentially-catastrophic side effects including kidney and nerve damage, cognitive dysfunction and hearing loss. The risk of nephrotoxicity in patients taking cis-platinum is between 20% and 35% and leads to death, in the case of acute kidney injury (AKI) patients, forcing clinicians to carefully dose and monitor kidney health.¹ In some cases cis-platinum treatment for cancer has to be terminated early without achieving the desired outcome. David Blum, a key member of Marvel's scientific advisory board, recently published data showing inhibiting the adenosine A2a receptor, using the approved drug Istradefylline, reduces kidney and nerve damage in cis-platinum treated animals.² It was also previously reported that inhibiting the A2a receptor prevented cognitive dysfunction as well.³ Marvel's MB-204 directly targets the A2a receptor and blocks its activity.

"When we treated animals with MB-204, our fluorinated derivative of Istradefylline , we saw a significant increase in their survival rate from between 20% and 80% while they were being given a high-dose course of cis-platinum," said Dr. Mark Williams, Chief Science Officer of Marvel. "Our data, in conjunction with Dr. Blum and other independent research, suggests that Marvel's MB-204 could be an attractive adjunct therapy to cis-platinum treatment as it can protect patients from long-term kidney damage, nerve damage and cognitive dysfunction. This could significantly help oncologists and improve patient outcomes in the treatment of many forms of cancer."

"We are on track to enter the all-important phase I human clinical trials early in 2023 for MB-204 at which time we will begin releasing details of our commercialization strategy. We are very excited for the future of Marvel, cancer patients, people with Alzheimer's and those suffering from depression and anxiety," concluded Mr. Matheson.

About Marvel Biosciences Corp.

Marvel Biosciences Corp., and its wholly owned subsidiary, Marvel Biotechnology Inc., is a Calgary-based pre-clinical stage pharmaceutical development biotechnology company that utilizes a "drug redevelopment" approach to drug development. Historically, when a new class of drug is developed, it is optimized for a particular target, but typically only approved for a specific disease. Often, a new disease is identified which involves the same target, however, pending the remaining patent life, the originally approved drug may not have sufficient time left for it to be commercially viable to be developed for the new disease indication. Marvel develops new synthetic chemical derivatives of the original approved drug for the new disease indication. Patent protection is sought, as the new potential asset is developed by the Company. The Company believes the business model results in significantly less risk, cost and time to develop its assets compared to traditional biotechnology companies.

Marvel Biotechnology Inc. has currently developed several new chemical entities, using synthetic chemical derivatives of known, off-patent drugs, that inhibit the A2a adenosine receptor with application to neurological diseases (depression & anxiety, Alzheimer's, ADHD), and the non-neurological conditions of cancer and non-alcoholic steatohepatitis. Marvel is also exploring additional undisclosed targets to expand its asset pipeline.

1. https://www.nature.com/articles/s41401-021-00620-9
2. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/36377661/
3. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/35867768/

Contact Information:

Investor Relations
Virtus Advisory Group
Tel: 416-644-5081
Email: info@virtusadvisory.com

Marvel Biosciences Corp.
Roderick (Rod) Matheson, Chief Executive Officer or
Dr. Mark Williams, President, and Chief Science Officer
Tel: 403 770 2469
Email: info@marvelbiosciences.com

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