DDR2

GT-03842, Identified by the Company’s Magellan Drug Discovery Platform, Effectively Hinders Phosphorylation and Activation of DDR2 GT-03842 May Offer Potential Favourable Therapeutic Attributes for Oncology Compared to Traditional Kinase Inhibitors BETHESDA, Md., Oct. 23, 2024 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Gain Therapeutics, Inc. (Nasdaq: GANX) (“Gain”, or the “Company”), a clinical-stage biotechnology company leading the discovery and development of the next generation of allosteric small molecule therapies, today announced the presentation of a poster at the 36th EORTC-NCI-AACR (ENA) Symposium on molecular targets and cancer therapeutics that details the use of the Company’s Magellan drug discovery platform to identify allosteric inhibitors targeting discoidin domain receptor 2 (DDR2). ENA 2024 is being held October 23-25 in Barcelona, Spain. “We believe the identification of allosteric small molecule inhibitors targeting DDR2 validates the Company’s Magellan platform. Our belief is strengthened that this innovative approach can one day result in much-needed novel therapeutics for people with DDR2-driven malignancies,” commented Joanne Taylor, Ph.D., Senior Vice President of Research at Gain. The poster, “Identification of allosteric inhibitors targeting Discoidin Domain Receptor 2 (DDR2),” which was presented on-site on October 23 by Sara Cano-Crespo, Ph.D., Senior Scientist of Biology at Gain, detailed how the 3D structure of DDR2 guided a high-throughput virtual screening and subsequent experimental validation that resulted in GT-03842 and additional analogue compounds. Upon binding to collagen, DDR2 undergoes autophosphorylation, triggering its activation and initiating downstream signaling cascades. After conducting a phosphorylation assay based on AlphaLISA with HEK293 cells overexpressing DDR2, GT-03842 and its analogues were found to inhibit DDR2 phosphorylation in a dose-dependent manner. Aberrant DDR2 phosphorylation is associated with various cancer types and is involved in critical processes in tumor progression, including proliferation, migration, invasion, metastasis, epithelial-mesenchymal transition, and immunotherapy resistance. In a metastatic breast cancer model, GT-03842 also reduced DDR2 phosphorylation. Additionally, GT-03842 inhibits DDR2 activity without targeting the kinase domain, showing the potential to overcome resistance and offer enhanced selectivity and safety compared to traditional kinase inhibitors. A PDF of the poster presented at the 36th ENA Symposium on molecular targets and cancer therapeutics is available on the Science and Technology section of the Company’s website at https://gaintherapeutics.com/science-and-technology/posters. About Gain Therapeutics, Inc.Gain Therapeutics, Inc. is a clinical-stage biotechnology company leading the discovery and development of next generation allosteric therapies. Gain’s lead drug candidate, GT-02287 is currently being evaluated for the treatment of Parkinson’s disease with or without a GBA1 mutation. Results from a Phase 1 study of GT-02287 in healthy volunteers demonstrated favorable safety and tolerability, plasma exposure in the projected therapeutic range, CNS exposure, and target engagement and modulation of GCase enzyme. Gain’s unique approach enables the discovery of novel, allosteric small molecule modulators that can restore or disrupt protein function. Deploying its highly advanced Magellan™ platform, Gain is accelerating drug discovery and unlocking novel disease-modifying treatments for untreatable or difficult-to-treat disorders including neurodegenerative diseases, rare genetic disorders and oncology. Forward-Looking StatementsThis release contains “forward-looking statements” made pursuant to the safe harbor provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These statements are typically preceded by words such as “believes,” “expects,” “anticipates,” “intends,” “will,” “may,” “should,” or similar expressions. These forward-looking statements reflect management’s current knowledge, assumptions, judgment and expectations regarding future performance or events. Although management believes that the expectations reflected in such statements are reasonable, they give no assurance that such expectations will prove to be correct or that those goals will be achieved, and you should be aware that actual results could differ materially from those contained in the forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements are subject to a number of risks and uncertainties, including, but not limited to, risks associated with market conditions and the satisfaction of customary closing conditions related to the offering and uncertainties related to the offerings and the use of proceeds from the offerings. For a further description of the risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ from those expressed in these forward-looking statements, as well as risks relating to the Company’s business in general, please refer to the Company’s prospectus supplement to be filed with the SEC, and the documents incorporated by reference therein, including the Company’s Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2023 and Form 10-Q for the quarter ended June 30, 2024.All forward-looking statements are expressly qualified in their entirety by this cautionary notice. You are cautioned not to place undue reliance on any forward-looking statements, which speak only as of the date of this release. We have no obligation, and expressly disclaim any obligation, to update, revise or correct any of the forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise. Investor Contacts:Apaar Jammu and Chuck Padalaajammu@gaintherapeutics.comchuck@lifesciadvisors.com Media Contacts:Russo PartnersNic Johnson and Elio Ambrosionic.johnson@russopartnersllc.comelio.ambrosio@russopartnersllc.com(760) 846-9256

BETHESDA, Md., Oct. 15, 2024 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Gain Therapeutics, Inc. (Nasdaq: GANX) (“Gain”, or the “Company”), a clinical-stage biotechnology company leading the discovery and development of the next generation of allosteric small molecule therapies, today announced that a poster detailing the use of the Company’s Magellan platform to discover novel allosteric discoidin domain receptor 2 (DDR2) inhibitors will be presented at the 36th EORTC-NCI-AACR (ENA) Symposium on molecular targets and cancer therapeutics being held October 23-25 in Barcelona, Spain. DDR2 displays aberrant expression and mutations across various cancer types and is involved in critical processes in tumor progression, including proliferation, migration, invasion, metastasis, epithelial-mesenchymal transition, and chemotherapy resistance. Allosteric small molecule inhibitors have the potential to overcome resistance and offer enhanced selectivity and safety compared to traditional kinase inhibitors. ENA 2024 stands as the drug development and translational research meeting, giving the spotlight to preclinical and phase I studies, ensuring in-depth scientific discussions on the latest developments in targets and drugs. Title: Identification of allosteric inhibitors targeting Discoidin Domain Receptor 2 (DDR2) Presenting Author: Sara Cano-Crespo, Ph.D., Gain TherapeuticsPoster Session: Molecular Targeted AgentsDate and Time: Wednesday, October 23, 2024, 11am CEST About Gain Therapeutics, Inc.Gain Therapeutics, Inc. is a clinical-stage biotechnology company leading the discovery and development of next generation allosteric therapies. Gain’s lead drug candidate, GT-02287 is currently being evaluated for the treatment of Parkinson’s disease with or without a GBA1 mutation. Results from a Phase 1 study of GT-02287 in healthy volunteers demonstrated favorable safety and tolerability, plasma exposure in the projected therapeutic range, CNS exposure, and target engagement and modulation of GCase enzyme. Gain’s unique approach enables the discovery of novel, allosteric small molecule modulators that can restore or disrupt protein function. Deploying its highly advanced Magellan™ platform, Gain is accelerating drug discovery and unlocking novel disease-modifying treatments for untreatable or difficult-to-treat disorders including neurodegenerative diseases, rare genetic disorders and oncology. Forward-Looking StatementsThis release contains “forward-looking statements” made pursuant to the safe harbor provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These statements are typically preceded by words such as “believes,” “expects,” “anticipates,” “intends,” “will,” “may,” “should,” or similar expressions. These forward-looking statements reflect management’s current knowledge, assumptions, judgment and expectations regarding future performance or events. Although management believes that the expectations reflected in such statements are reasonable, they give no assurance that such expectations will prove to be correct or that those goals will be achieved, and you should be aware that actual results could differ materially from those contained in the forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements are subject to a number of risks and uncertainties, including, but not limited to, risks associated with market conditions and the satisfaction of customary closing conditions related to the offering and uncertainties related to the offerings and the use of proceeds from the offerings. For a further description of the risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ from those expressed in these forward-looking statements, as well as risks relating to the Company’s business in general, please refer to the Company’s prospectus supplement to be filed with the SEC, and the documents incorporated by reference therein, including the Company’s Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2023 and Form 10-Q for the quarter ended June 30, 2024. All forward-looking statements are expressly qualified in their entirety by this cautionary notice. You are cautioned not to place undue reliance on any forward-looking statements, which speak only as of the date of this release. We have no obligation, and expressly disclaim any obligation, to update, revise or correct any of the forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise. Investor Contacts:Apaar Jammu and Chuck Padalaajammu@gaintherapeutics.comchuck@lifesciadvisors.com Media Contacts:Russo PartnersNic Johnson and Elio Ambrosionic.johnson@russopartnersllc.comelio.ambrosio@russopartnersllc.com(760) 846-9256

Craniosynostosis, the premature fusion of the top of the skull in infants, is caused by an abnormal excess of a previously unknown type of bone-forming stem cell, according to a preclinical study. Craniosynostosis, the premature fusion of the top of the skull in infants, is caused by an abnormal excess of a previously unknown type of bone-forming stem cell, according to a preclinical study led by researchers at Weill Cornell Medicine. Craniosynostosis arises from one of several possible gene mutations, and occurs in about one in 2,500 babies. By constricting brain growth, it can lead to abnormal brain development if not corrected surgically. In complex cases, multiple surgeries are needed. In the study, which appears Sept. 20 in Nature, the researchers examined in detail what happens in the skull of mice with one of the most common mutations found in human craniosynostosis. They found that the mutation drives premature skull fusion by inducing the abnormal proliferation of a type of bone-making stem cell -- the DDR2+ stem cell -- that had never been described before. "We can now start to think about treating craniosynostosis not just with surgery but also by blocking this abnormal stem cell activity," said study co-senior author Dr. Matt Greenblatt, an associate professor of pathology and laboratory medicine at Weill Cornell Medicine and a pathologist at NewYork-Presbyterian/Weill Cornell Medical Center. The other co-senior author of the study was Dr. Shawon Debnath, a research associate in the Greenblatt laboratory. In a study published in Nature in 2018, Drs. Debnath and Greenblatt and their colleagues, described the discovery of a type of bone-forming stem cell they called the CTSK+ stem cell. Because this type of cell is present in the top of the skull, or "calvarium," in mice, they suspected that it has a role in causing craniosynostosis. In the new study, they investigated that possibility by engineering mice in which CTSK+ stem cells lack one of the genes whose loss of function causes craniosynostosis. They expected that the gene deletion somehow would induce these calvarial stem cells to go into bone-making overdrive. This new bone would fuse the flexible, fibrous material called sutures in the skull that normally allow it to expand in infants. "We were surprised to find that, instead of the mutation in CTSK+ stem cells leading to these stem cells being activated to fuse the bony plates in the skull as we expected, mutations in the CTSK+ stem cells instead led to the depletion of these stem cells at the sutures -- and the greater the depletion, the more complete the fusion of the sutures," Dr. Debnath said. The unexpected finding led the team to hypothesize that another type of bone-forming stem cell was driving the abnormal suture fusion. After further experiments, and a detailed analysis of the cells present at fusing sutures, they identified the culprit: the DDR2+ stem cell, whose daughter cells make bone using a different process than that utilized by CTSK+ cells. The team found that CTSK+ stem cells normally suppress the production of the DDR2+ stem cells. But the craniosynostosis gene mutation causes the CTSK+ stem cells to die off, allowing the DDR2+ cells to proliferate abnormally. To investigate these stem cells in human tissue, the team formed a collaboration with craniosynostosis surgeon Dr. Caitlin Hoffman, neurogeneticist Dr. Elizabeth Ross, and neuropathologist Dr. David Pisapia, all at Weill Cornell Medicine and NewYork-Presbyterian/Weill Cornell Medical Center; and craniosynostosis surgeon Dr. Thomas Imahiyerobo of Columbia University Vagelos College of Physicians and Surgeons and NewYork-Presbyterian/Columbia University Irving Medical Center. The researchers found the human versions of DDR2+ stem cells and CTSK+ stem cells in calvarial samples from craniosynostosis surgeries -- underscoring the likely clinical relevance of their findings in mice. The findings suggest that inappropriate DDR2+ stem cell proliferation in the calvarium, in infants with craniosynostosis-linked gene mutations, could be treated by suppressing this stem cell population, through mimicking the methods that CTSK+ stem cells normally use to prevent expansion of DDR2+stem cells. The researchers found that the CTSK+ stem cells achieve this suppression by secreting a growth factor protein called IGF-1, and possibly other regulatory proteins. "We observed that we could partly prevent calvarial fusion by injecting IGF-1 over the calvarium," said study first author Dr. Seoyeon Bok, a postdoctoral researcher in the Greenblatt laboratory. "I can imagine DDR2+ stem cell-suppressing drug treatments being used along with surgical management, essentially to limit the number of surgeries needed or enhance outcomes," Dr. Greenblatt said. In addition to treatment-oriented research, he and his colleagues now are looking for other bone-forming stem cell populations in the skull. "This work has uncovered much more complexity in the skull than we ever imagined, and we suspect the complexity doesn't end with these two stem cell types," Dr. Greenblatt said.