Zentek Ltd. announced that its wholly-owned subsidiary Triera Biosciences Ltd. ("Triera") has completed testing of its C19HBA aptamer as a potential therapeutic. The SARS-CoV-2 universal aptamer built on the proprietary high-binding affinity aptamer platform successfully outperformed a leading monoclonal antibody ("LMA") in preclinical testing demonstrating potential as a therapeutic for SARS- CoV-2. The Company previously reported successful results when C19HBA was tested as a prophylactic treatment. In repeated prophylaxis trials against SARS-CoV- 2 variants, including Omicron XBB 1.5 variant, C19HBA has matched or exceeded the clinical protection when compared to LMA.

In the most recent trial completed in January 2024 by the Miller lab at McMaster University, C19HBA was tested for its therapeutic potential. LMA treatment demonstrated some clinical benefit compared to the untreated mice, however, weight loss curves and recovery time were not materially improved between LMA-treated and untreated groups. In contrast, the treatment that featured C19HBA demonstrated improved therapeutic benefit over either no treatment or the LMA therapeutic as evidenced by: Initial signs of recovery and full recovery of the C19HBA-treated mice occurring one day earlier than LMA treated or untreated mice; and A 30% reduction in total average weight loss of C19HBA treated mice compared to the average weight loss of untreated and LMA-treated mice.

The full results of this preclinical investigation are pending publication in a peer reviewed journal.