News Release
PlantForm and 3DBioFibR announce NGen funding to advancerecombinant human collagen fiber manufacturing technology
Project leverages partners’ strengths to develop world’s first scalable dry spinning of recombinanthuman collagen for use in a broad range of sectors including regenerative medicine
TORONTO, Canada, January 18, 2024 – Canadian biopharmaceutical innovator PlantFormm Corporationand Halifax-based 3DBioFibR
R Inc., a leader in developing biomaterials for tissue engineering, have been
awarded $1.3 million from Next Generation Manufacturing Canada (NGen) to support the developmentof the world's first scalable dry spinning of recombinant human collagen fibers that match or exceed thestrength of collagen fibers in the human body.
Collagen makes up about 30 percent of the protein content in the human body, where it plays a crucialrole providing structure and strength for skin, muscles, bones and connective tissue. It can be extracted
from almost every living animal for use in biomaterials engineering and regenerative medicine, including
therapies that promote wound healing and repair of orthopedic injuries. However, because most collagenis extracted from animal sources, it is broken down from its higher order fiber form into individual
collagen proteins, which are then used in various applications throughout biomedical research.
3DBioFibR’s Patented Dry Spinning platform is the first collagen fiber spinning platform to demonstrate
an ability to spin these collagen molecules back into collagen fibers that closely match both thebiochemical and biomechanical properties of natural collagen structures, at a scale that is 3600X fasterthan competing technologies. However, there are few commercially available sources of non-animal
collagen for tissue engineering, despite an industry push to move away from animal sources of collagen.
The collaborative project will combine PlantForm's plant-made therapeutic protein manufacturing systemwith 3DBioFibR's patented, fully automated collagen fiber manufacturing technology to produce collagenfibers at commercial scale that closely resemble the biomechanical and biochemical properties of naturalcollagen. The work will focus on improving the scale of collagen expression and fiber manufacturing
capacity and validating new methodologies for incorporating the recombinant collagen feedstock into thefiber manufacturing process.
“This is an exciting project that demonstrates once again the incredible versatility of PlantForm'svivoXPRESS® manufacturing platform,” said Dr. Don Stewart, PlantForm’s President and CEO. “Withsupport from NGen, 3DBioFibR and PlantForm will develop a scalable, cost-effective, dry spinning system
for manufacturing recombinant collagen fiber that will have broad application in medicine, research andother sectors.”

NGen is the industry-led not-for-profit organization that leads Canada's Global Innovation Cluster for
Advanced Manufacturing. The funding from NGen will cover a little over one-third of the project’s $3.6million total cost, with PlantForm and 3DBioFibR contributing the balance.
The vivoXPRESS® platform — which uses Nicotiana benthamiana plants as bioreactors to grow proteins
and antibodies for biosimilars used in cancer treatment, vaccines and other therapeutics — mitigates therisk of immunogenicity. 3DBioFibR’s automated and proprietary dry spinning process is the only processthat produces high quality, diameter-controlled collagen fibers at commercial scale.
“By scaling up each of these technologies and designing a process that enables their compatibility, we will
create the first recombinant human collagen fiber manufacturing capability,” said Kevin Sullivan, CEO of
3DBioFibR. “This innovative production of collagen fibers will not only have applications in tissue
engineering, such as creating muscles, tendons, and skin grafts for implantation, but also in creating morebiologically relevant tissue and organ models to avoid animal studies.”
About 3DBioFibR Inc. (wwww.3DBioFibR.com)
3DBioFibR produces high value collagen fibers at commercial scales for a variety of tissue engineering and medical
applications. The company’s proprietary dry-spinning process produces fibers that are best- in-class from a strength,
diameter, and quality perspective, recreating the natural appearance, structure, and function of collagen fibers. This
manufacturing process is at least 3,600x faster than competing applications in the growing tissue engineering
market. For more information, visit www.3DBioFibR.com.
About PlantForm Corporation (plantformcorp.com)
PlantForm Corporation is a biopharmaceutical company focused on the low-cost production of high-value antibody
and protein drugs and vaccines using the proprietary vivoXPRESS® plant-based manufacturing platform.
The vivoXPRESS® plant expression system produces biologic drugs at a significantly reduced cost compared tostandard mammalian cell systems. The platform is fast (drug production in as little as six weeks), versatile and easily
scalable. PlantForm’s pipeline features an innovative antidote to ricin exposure, and biosimilar versions of the brandname biologic drugs Lucentis® and Keytruda®. Learn more.

-endFor more information, please contact:
Don Stewart͒
President and CEO, PlantForm Corp.
don.stewart@plantformcorp.com+1 416-452-7242Kevin Sullivan
CEO, 3DBioFibR Inc.
info@3DBioFibR.com

Stacey Curry Gunn
Director of Communications, PlantForm Corp.
stacey.curry.gunn@plantformcorp.com+1 519-827-1131

2