TORONTO, May 27, 2021 /CNW/ - SQI Diagnostics Inc.
("SQI" or the "Company") (TSXV: SQD) (OTCQB: SQIDF), a life
sciences and diagnostics company that develops and commercializes
proprietary technologies and products for advanced microarray
diagnostics, today announced that effective May 27, 2021, it has granted an aggregate of
2,409,717 stock options ("Options") to a consultant and
certain employees and officers of the Company under the Company's
amended and restated stock option plan (the "Plan"). The
goal of the grant of Options is to align the interests of the
Company's employees, officers and directors with those of
shareholders. The Options were granted at an exercise price of
$0.22.
The Plan was approved by shareholders at the Company's annual
and special meeting held on March 31,
2021. The Options have a term of 5 years and vest over 36
months. Following the grant of Options, there will be 12,690,338
Options outstanding. There are currently 342,842,735 shares
outstanding.
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 serological 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.
Under serological testing, SQI is fast-tracking the development
of three Covid-19 diagnostic tests: a direct-to-consumer 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. 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 require hospital admission 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's point-of-care in about 15 minutes.
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 TOR dx ™ 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 UHN
Hospitals, one of the largest health and medical research
organizations in North America .
Upon regulatory approval of the TOR dx ™ 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 organization in North America .
For more information, please visit
https://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
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.
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SOURCE SQI Diagnostics Inc.