May 18, 2020

Initiatives Against COVID-19 in Canada-Intermediary Results of VLP Vaccine Pre-clinical Study
Mitsubishi Tanabe Pharma Corporation (Head Office: Osaka, Japan; President &Representative Director; Hiroaki Ueno) announced today that its affiliated company,Medicago Inc. (Head Office: Quebec, Canada; CEO; Bruce D. Clark) has announced
the positive intermediary results of a plant-derived virus-like particle (VLP) vaccine
for the prevention of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) which has being
developed by Medicago.
Medicago will continue to conduct safety and efficacy pre-clinical trials and will
discuss with regulatory agencies to initiate human clinical trials by August 2020.
The clinical study will be completed in November 2021 when studies progresssmoothly.
Mitsubishi Tanabe Pharma Group will develop this vaccine to be supplied in Canada
where the development underway as well as in Japan for the prevention of COVID19 infection.

Medicago release (May 14, 2020, local time)
Medicago announces positive results in animal trials for its vaccine candidate
against COVID-19.
Mitsubishi Tanabe Pharma CorporationCorporate Communications Department
Media contacts: TEL:+81 6 6205 5119

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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Medicago announces positive results in animal trials for its vaccine candidate against COVID-19
QUEBEC CITY, May14, 2020 - Medicago, a biopharmaceutical company headquartered in Quebec City,
announced today that its vaccine candidate for COVID-19 induced a positive antibody response only 10days after a single dose in mice.
“These positive results are pivotal to initiate a clinical study in healthy volunteers. Once results from asecond ‘boost’ dose are available, Medicago will submit a clinical trial application to Health Canada andan investigational new drug submission with the FDA in the United States to allow for the initiation ofhuman clinical trials this summer,” said Nathalie Landry, Executive Vice-President Scientific and Medical
Affairs at Medicago. “We are very encouraged about these promising early results achieved with ourplant-derived vaccine candidate developed in Canada.”
Though the precise dosage for the vaccine in humans is not yet determined, Medicago estimates its
current facilities in Quebec and North Carolina could produce up to 20 million and 100 million annualdoses, respectively, of pharmaceutical-grade COVID-19 vaccines. Millions of doses could be available by
the end of the year as needed.
"We are working hard to add another 20 Million doses capacity in Canada and 100M in North Carolina for
2022, ahead of the completion of our large-scale factory in Quebec in 2023, which would be able toproduce more than 1 billion doses of COVID-19 vaccines per year,” said Michael Schunk, Executive VicePresident Operations at Medicago.
In early March, the company produced a Virus-Like Particle (VLP) of the coronavirus just 20 days after
obtaining the SARS-CoV-2 gene and quickly initiated pre-clinical testing. The company expects to initiate
Phase I clinical trials this summer. Following this trial, it is anticipated that the Phase 2 study will begin
prior to the end of 2020.
Medicago is a leader in plant-based technology having previously demonstrated its capability to be a first
responder in a flu pandemic. In 2009, the company produced a research-grade vaccine candidate against
H1N1 in just 19 days. In 2012, Medicago manufactured 10 million doses of a monovalent influenzavaccine within one month for the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA), part of theU.S. Department of Defense. In 2015, Medicago also demonstrated that it could rapidly produce an antiEbola monoclonal antibody cocktail for the Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority(BARDA), part of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.
The company’s first product, a seasonal recombinant quadrivalent VLP vaccine for active immunization
against influenza, is currently under review by Health Canada following the completion of a robust safetyand efficacy clinical program involving over 25,000 subjects.

- ENDS -Media contact (English)
Alissa Von Bargen+1-647-234-5975
Alissa.VonBargen@gcicanada.com

Media contact (French)Marie-Pier Côté
+ 418 999-4847
mpcote@tactconseil.ca

Medicago’s plant-based platform
The company uses a proprietary plant-based technology to develop protein-based therapeutics. Unlike
traditional vaccination development, Medicago does not use animal products or live viruses to create its
products. Instead, it uses Virus-Like Particles (VLPs) that mimic the shape and dimensions of a virus,
which allows the body to recognize them and create an immune response in a non-infectious way.
Clinical trial data suggest that VLPs have a multi-modal mechanism of action that is different from that ofinactivated vaccines, activating both arms of the immune system – antibody and cell-mediated responses.
Medicago’s proprietary technology is rapid, versatile, and scalable. As soon as the genetic sequence of avirus is made available, Medicago can develop a clinical-grade vaccine candidate in only a few weeks.
Its recombinant technology allows the production of a vaccine that precisely matches the circulatingstrains, such as in the case of seasonal influenza. The technology is easily scalable, allowing thecompany to increase volume of production by simply increasing the number of plants it uses.

Product portfolio and pipeline
Medicago’s first product, a Recombinant Quadrivalent Virus-Like Particle (QVLP) seasonal flu vaccine ispresently under review by Health Canada. Vaccine candidates for pandemic flu, rotavirus and norovirus
are being tested across pre-clinical and Phase II clinical trials. Medicago is also developing antibodies
against hMPV, RSV and Opioids.

Facilities
Medicago is headquartered in Quebec City, Canada, and plans to produce COVID-19 vaccines andantibodies in its Quebec pilot plant to respond to the immediate short-term demand. The company also
has a manufacturing facility in Durham, North Carolina (USA), which is currently dedicated to theproduction of vaccines and antibodies for its clinical trials and is expected to support the launch of thequadrivalent VLP influenza vaccine once it is approved. A new state-of-the-art manufacturing plant isunder construction in Quebec City, which will be fully functional by 2023 and will have the capability todeliver up to 50 million doses of recombinant quadrivalent influenza vaccine per year.

About Medicago

Medicago is a biopharmaceutical company with more than 450 employees in Canada and the UnitedStates. Medicago’s mission is to improve global health outcomes by leveraging innovative plant-based
technologies for rapid responses to emerging global health challenges. Medicago is committed toadvancing therapeutics against life-threatening diseases worldwide.
For more information: www.medicago.com