Company Expects to Use Proceeds for
Clinical Development and Commercialization
Efforts
TORONTO, Feb. 10, 2021 /CNW/ - SQI Diagnostics Inc.
(the "Company" or "SQI") ( (TSXV: SQD) (OTCQB: SQIDF), a precision
medicine company that discovers, develops, and commercializes
innovative rapid diagnostic testing for healthcare professionals,
patients and consumers worldwide, today announced that certain
insiders of the Company, who are also control persons of the
Company and collectively own, or exercise control or direction
over, an aggregate of 78% of the issued and outstanding common
shares ("Shares") in the capital of the Company (the "Majority
Shareholders"), have informed the Company of their intention to
sell, from time to time, up to an aggregate of 15 million Shares at
or around the prevailing market price of the Shares at the time of
such sales, and to use the proceeds of such sales (net of
commissions, taxes and other selling costs) to finance the exercise
of common share purchase warrants ("Warrants") held by such
Majority Shareholders at exercise prices ranging from $0.12 to $0.21 (the
"Warrant Exercise") in order to fund the Company.
![SQI Diagnostics Inc. Logo (CNW Group/SQI Diagnostics Inc.) SQI Diagnostics Inc. Logo (CNW Group/SQI Diagnostics Inc.)](https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/1436176/SQI_Diagnostics_Inc__SQI_Diagnostics_Announces_Proposed_Insider.jpg)
Each of the Majority Shareholders has filed a Form 45-102F1 –
Notice of Intention to Distribute Securities under Section 2.8
of NI 45-102 Resale of Securities ( the "Sale Notices") in
connection with the contemplated sales of Shares to fund the
Warrant Exercise. The Company has also been informed by each of the
Majority Shareholders that such shareholders intend to execute the
sales of Shares through a combination of private and over the
market trades during the duration of the sales period contemplated
in the Sale Notices, which will expire on March 11, 2021. The Majority Shareholders have
informed the Company that they intend to continue to fund the
Company through the exercise of Warrants from time to time with
proceeds raised from the sale of Shares pursuant to future Sales
Notices until their respective Warrant holdings are extinguished
and $19,132,373 has been
invested in the Company. There is no assurance as to the timing of
the transactions contemplated in the Sales Notices nor whether any
such transactions will occur.
"We are excited to move forward with this significant funding
initiative for SQI", stated Mr. Robert L.
Chioini, CEO of SQI. "This strategy to exercise the Warrants
is an ideal way to fund the Company while it also enables us to
improve our capital structure and liquidity. We intend to use
the cash proceeds from the Warrant exercises to execute our
business plan, by financing clinical development and the
commercialization of our innovative diagnostics. The intended
Warrant exercise by the three Majority Shareholders shows their
support and commitment to the SQI business strategy," added Mr.
Chioini.
About SQI Diagnostics
SQI Diagnostics, Inc. is a precision medicine company that
discovers, develops, and commercializes innovative rapid diagnostic
testing for healthcare providers, patients, and consumers
worldwide. The Company's proprietary advanced diagnostics target
organ transplant, autoimmune disease and COVID-19 testing which
include the developmental direct-to-consumer COVID-19 HOME Antibody
Test, the RALI-dx™ COVID-19 Severity Triage Test and the
COVID-19 RALI-fast™ Severity Triage Point-of-Care
(POC) Test. SQI's rapid diagnostic tests are intended to be sold to
healthcare professionals so that patients can get accurate results
and fast effective treatment, and direct-to-consumers so that
individuals can be empowered to improve their health outcomes from
the comfort of home.
SQI is fast-tracking the development of three COVID-19
diagnostic tests: a direct-to-consumer COVID-19 Antibody Test and
two COVID-19 Severity Triage tests. The COVID-19 HOME Antibody Test
identifies the presence of IgM, IgA and IgG antibodies of
SARS-CoV-2 in individuals suspected to have been infected with
COVID-19 and asymptomatic individuals wanting to know if they have
been exposed. The test is > 99% accurate with results delivered
in 24-48 hours. The Company currently expects to apply to the U.S.
Food and Drug Administration ("FDA") for Emergency Use
Authorization ("EUA") for its COVID-19 HOME Antibody Test in
the second quarter of calendar year 2021. Should the COVID-19 HOME
Antibody Test receive regulatory approval, the test is expected to
be available direct-to-consumer which would allow individuals to
avoid travelling to a clinic or hospital to be tested for the
presence of the SARS-CoV-2 antibody.
The RALI-dx™ COVID-19 Severity Triage Test and the
RALI-fast™ COVID-19 Severity Triage POC Test each
help clinicians identify which patients with SARS-CoV-2 will have a
severe inflammatory response and should be admitted to the hospital
or not. Both tests measure the critical biomarker IL-6 which plays
a key role in the cytokine storm phase of COVID-19. The RALI-dx™
delivers results from the lab in about 50 minutes while the
RALI-fast™ delivers results at the patient
point-of-care in about 15 minutes. The Company currently expects to
apply for EUA to the FDA and for an Interim Order with Health
Canada for both tests in the first and second quarters of calendar
year 2021, respectively.
Under organ transplant, SQI is pioneering the development of an
advanced diagnostic test that increases the chance of successful
lung transplant by assessing the health of the donor organ prior to
transplant surgery. The Company's developmental
TORdx™ Lung Test can detect inflammation at the
molecular level to assess the health of the donor lung, enabling
surgeons to transplant healthy lungs which otherwise would have
been rejected; there is currently no other such test. SQI has
partnered clinical development with the University Health Network
(UHN) Hospitals, one of the largest health and medical research
organizations in North America.
Upon regulatory approval of the TORdx™ Lung Test,
clinical development is planned for diagnostic tests designed to
increase the chance of successful kidney and liver transplant.
Under autoimmune disease testing, SQI has a direct-to-consumer
Celiac Disease and a Rheumatoid Arthritis (RA) Test that enable
people to screen for the diseases from the comfort of their home.
The direct-to-consumer RA Test can help identify and confirm RA
symptoms for timely care and treatment. The direct-to-consumer
Celiac Test confirms disease and validates the effectiveness of
dietary and lifestyle changes to confirm the autoimmune response is
improving.
The Company is not making any express or implied claims that its
products can eliminate, cure or contain COVID-19 (or SARS-2
Coronavirus) at this time. For its research and development,
the Company is collaborating with UHN Hospitals, one of the largest
health and medical research organizations in North
America.
For more information, please visit www.sqidiagnostics.com.
FORWARD-LOOKING INFORMATION
This press release contains certain words and statements,
which may constitute "forward-looking statements" within the
meaning of applicable securities laws. Such
forward-looking statements may be identified by words such as
"anticipates", "plans", "proposes", "estimates", "intends",
"expects", "believes", "may" and "will". The forward-looking
statements reflect the current views of the Company
with respect to future events and are subject to certain risks and
uncertainties detailed in the Company's ongoing filings with the
securities regulatory authorities, available to the public at
www.sedar.com. Such statements are subject to numerous important
factors, risks and uncertainties, many of which are beyond the
company's control, that may cause actual events or results to
differ materially from the company's current expectations.
Management's expectations and therefore any forward-looking
statements in this press release could be affected by risks and
uncertainties relating to a number of factors, including, but not
limited to, the following: the completion of the insider sales and
Warrant exercises contemplated in the Sales Notices, the
development and viability the Company's COVID-19 HOME
Antibody Test, its COVID-19 RALI-dx™ Severity Triage
Test and its COVID-19 RALI-fast™ Severity Triage
Point-of-Care (POC) Test, the suitability of such tests for
advanced clinical testing, including human trials,
the content and timing of decisions made by the FDA relating
to the use and commercialization of such tests, the timing and
costs involved in establishing the commercialization of the tests,
the impact that the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic may have on the
company's business, including the expected development,
manufacturing, regulatory and commercialization timelines relating
to the aforementioned COVID-19-related tests. Readers are cautioned
not to place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements.
The Company undertakes no obligation to publicly update or revise
any forward-looking statements either as a result of new
information, future events or otherwise, except as required by
applicable securities laws
Neither TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services
Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX
Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or
accuracy of this release.
SOURCE SQI Diagnostics Inc.