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“Fully Engaging The Human Immune System To Cure Disease,” Featuring CEO, Jeffrey MecklerRegistration now open at INDPMarch2024.TribePublic.com NEW YORK, March 18, 2024 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Indaptus Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ: INDP), a clinical stage biotechnology company dedicated to pioneering innovative cancer and viral infection treatments, announces that its CEO, Jeffrey Meckler, will present and participate in an open Q&A on Tribe Public’s Webinar titled, “Fully Engaging The Human Immune System To Cure Disease.” The event is scheduled to begin at 8:00am Pacific/11:00am Eastern on Wednesday, March 20, 2024. To register for the complimentary event, please visit Tribe Public’s website: INDPMarch2024.TribePublic.com. Once registered, participants may begin submitting their questions to research@tribepublic.com or share their questions via the ZOOM chat feature during the event. Tribe Public’s Managing Member, John F. Heerdink, Jr., will host the event and relay all questions to management.About Indaptus TherapeuticsIndaptus Therapeutics has evolved from more than a century of immunotherapy advances. The Company’s novel approach is based on the hypothesis that efficient activation of both innate and adaptive immune cells and pathways and associated anti-tumor and anti-viral immune responses will require a multi-targeted package of immune system-activating signals that can be administered safely intravenously (i.v.). Indaptus’ patented technology is composed of single strains of attenuated and killed, non-pathogenic, Gram-negative bacteria producing a multiple Toll-like receptor (TLR), Nucleotide oligomerization domain (NOD)-like receptor (NLR) and Stimulator of interferon genes (STING) agonist Decoy platform. The product candidates are designed to have reduced i.v. toxicity, but largely uncompromised ability to prime or activate many of the cells and pathways of innate and adaptive immunity. Decoy product candidates represent an antigen-agnostic technology that have produced single-agent activity against metastatic pancreatic and orthotopic colorectal carcinomas, single agent eradication of established antigen-expressing breast carcinoma, as well as combination-mediated eradication of established hepatocellular carcinomas, pancreatic and non-Hodgkin’s lymphomas in standard pre-clinical models, including syngeneic mouse tumors and human tumor xenografts. In pre-clinical studies tumor eradication was observed with Decoy product candidates in combination with anti-PD-1 checkpoint therapy, low-dose chemotherapy, a non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drug, or an approved, targeted antibody. Combination-based tumor eradication in pre-clinical models produced innate and adaptive immunological memory, involved activation of both innate and adaptive immune cells, and was associated with induction of innate and adaptive immune pathways in tumors after only one i.v. dose of Decoy product, with associated “cold” to “hot” tumor inflammation signature transition. IND-enabling, nonclinical toxicology studies demonstrated i.v. administration without sustained induction of hallmark biomarkers of cytokine release syndromes, possibly due to passive targeting to liver, spleen, and tumor, followed by rapid elimination of the product. Indaptus’ Decoy product candidates have also produced significant single agent activity against chronic hepatitis B virus (HBV) and chronic human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infections in pre-clinical models. Please find more information at: www.indaptusrx.com.ABOUT TRIBE PUBLIC LLCTribe Public LLC is a San Francisco, CA based organization that hosts complimentary worldwide webinar & meeting events in the U.S. Tribe’s complimentary events focus on issues that the Tribe members care about with an emphasis on hosting management teams from publicly traded companies from all sectors & financial organizations that are seeking to increase awareness of their products, progress and plans. Tribe members primarily include Family Offices, Portfolio Managers, Registered Investment Advisors, Accredited Investors, Sell Side Analysts, and members of media. Tribe Members are encouraged to express their interest in speakers they care about and want to learn from at the Tribe Public website via the Tribe’s FREE “Wish List” process. Visit Tribe Public’s Website to learn more: http://www.tribepublic.com/Forward-Looking StatementsThis press release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act. These include statements regarding management’s expectations, beliefs and intentions regarding, among other things: our expectations and plans regarding our Phase 1 clinical trial of Decoy20, including the timing and design thereof; the anticipated effects of our product candidates, including Decoy20; the plans and objectives of management for future operations; our research and development activities and costs; the sufficiency of our cash and cash equivalents to fund our ongoing activities and our cash management strategy; and our assessment of financing options to support our corporate strategy. Forward-looking statements can be identified by the use of forward-looking words such as “believe”, “expect”, “intend”, “plan”, “may”, “should”, “could”, “might”, “seek”, “target”, “will”, “project”, “forecast”, “continue” or “anticipate” or their negatives or variations of these words or other comparable words or by the fact that these statements do not relate strictly to historical matters. Because forward-looking statements relate to matters that have not yet occurred, these statements are inherently subject to risks and uncertainties that could cause our actual results to differ materially from any future results expressed or implied by the forward-looking statements. Many factors could cause actual activities or results to differ materially from the activities and results anticipated in forward-looking statements, including, but not limited to the following: our limited operating history; conditions and events that raise substantial doubt regarding our ability to continue as going concern; the need for, and our ability to raise, additional capital given our lack of current cash flow; our clinical and preclinical development, which involves a lengthy and expensive process with an uncertain outcome; our incurrence of significant research and development expenses and other operating expenses, which may make it difficult for us to attain profitability; our pursuit of a limited number of research programs, product candidates and specific indications and failure to capitalize on product candidates or indications that may be more profitable or have a greater likelihood of success; our ability to obtain and maintain regulatory approval of any product candidate; the market acceptance of our product candidates; our reliance on third parties to conduct our preclinical studies and clinical trials and perform other tasks; our reliance on third parties for the manufacture of our product candidates during clinical development; our ability to successfully commercialize Decoy20 or any future product candidates; our ability to obtain or maintain coverage and adequate reimbursement for our products; the impact of legislation and healthcare reform measures on our ability to obtain marketing approval for and commercialize Decoy20 and any future product candidates; product candidates of our competitors that may be approved faster, marketed more effectively, and better tolerated than our product candidates; our ability to adequately protect our proprietary or licensed technology in the marketplace; the impact of, and costs of complying with healthcare laws and regulations, and our failure to comply with such laws and regulations; information technology system failures, cyberattacks or deficiencies in our cybersecurity; and unfavorable global economic conditions. These and other important factors discussed under the caption “Risk Factors” included in our most recent Annual Report on Form 10-K filed with the SEC on March 13, 2024, and our other filings with the SEC, could cause actual results to differ materially from those indicated by the forward-looking statements made in this press release. All forward-looking statements speak only as of the date of this press release and are expressly qualified in their entirety by the cautionary statements included in this press release. We undertake no obligation to update or revise forward-looking statements to reflect events or circumstances that arise after the date made or to reflect the occurrence of unanticipated events, except as required by applicable law.Contact: investors@indaptusrx.comInvestor Relations Contact:CORE IRLouie Tomalouie@coreir.comMedia Contact:CORE IRJules Abrahamjulesa@coreir.com917-885-7378 A photo accompanying this announcement is available at https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/d4ab53c5-8aaa-474e-a0ea-f18365e9a1d5

The collaboration between IFM Due and Novartis began in September 2019. Credit: lucarista / Shutterstock.com. Novartis has exercised an option for the acquisition of all outstanding capital stock of IFM Therapeutics subsidiary IFM Due for $835m. The strategic acquisition will grant Novartis the complete rights to IFM Due’s portfolio of STING antagonists, which address a range of serious inflammation-driven diseases. IFM Due, established in February 2019, develops small molecule orally available drug candidates targeting the cyclic GMP-AMP synthase, a stimulator of the interferon genes (cGAS-STING) pathway, which is implicated in several serious diseases. The collaboration between IFM Due and Novartis began in September 2019 when the companies made an option and partnership agreement. Novartis agreed to fund research and development by IFM Due for the cGAS-STING programme in exchange for an option to acquire the company. See Also: Novartis files patent for combination therapy for b-cell lymphoma with CD19 car and BCL2 inhibitor Johnson & Johnson acquires Ambrx Biopharma for $2bn With the option exercised, IFM received an upfront payment of $90m from Novartis and is also entitled to milestone payments of $745m. The acquisition is a significant move for Novartis, as it will secure complete rights for IFM Due’s portfolio comprising STING antagonists. These assets have the potential to treat serious inflammation-driven ailments characterised by excessive interferon and other pro-inflammatory cytokine signalling. The cGAS-STING pathway functions within the innate immune system to sense cytosolic DNA, a signal of cellular danger, and then triggers a STING-dependent inflammatory response. Inappropriate activation of this pathway can result from genetic mutations or factors such as mitochondrial dysfunction, leading to diseases characterised by excessive inflammation. Novartis immunology research global head Richard Siegel said: “The acquisition of IFM Due represents the culmination of a highly productive, four-year preclinical collaboration between Novartis and IFM to develop novel small-molecule STING inhibitors with the potential to treat a spectrum of inflammatory diseases. “We are excited to advance IFM Due’s STING programme and leverage our deep expertise in inflammation science to bring forward transformative medicines that address major unmet patient needs.”

For more than four years, Novartis has foot the bill for a partner’s preclinical development of molecules with the potential to target a pathway implicated in inflammatory disorders. Now the pharmaceutical giant has seen enough progress to plunk down $90 million to buy the company, IFM Due, and continue its inflammation drug research. The acquisition announced Wednesday is the culmination of a 2019 agreement that Novartis reached with IFM Due’s parent company, IFM Therapeutics. In exchange for fully funding IFM Due’s R&D, Novartis gained an option to acquire all of that biotech’s stock. IFM Due’s research focuses on cGAS, a protein that regulates STING, a pathway in the innate immune system that senses signals of cellular danger. Picking up these signals triggers an inflammatory response. Inappropriate activation of the STING pathway leads to excessive signaling that drives inflammation. IFM Therapeutics says dysregulation of this pathway could be the basis for several inflammatory disorders. Specific diseases covered by IFM Due’s research remain undisclosed. But Novartis now has full rights to IFM Due’s portfolio of small molecules that could potentially treat conditions driven by excessive STING pathway activity. The Novartis acquisition marks the third exit event for IFM Therapeutics. The Boston company houses its research in subsidiaries, a corporate structure that enables each business unit to strike up partnerships with big pharmaceutical companies that can finance the research and potentially acquire it. The first such deal was Bristol Myers Squibb’s 2017 acquisition of IFM Therapeutics’ cancer immunotherapy research for $300 million up front. In 2019, Novartis paid $310 million up front to acquire IFM Tre, a clinical-stage IFM Therapeutics subsidiary whose lead program was a treatment for the fatty liver disease now known as MASH. Like the prior two IFM Therapeutics deals, the latest acquisition could pay out more depending on the progress of the research. IFM Due milestones could add another $745 million to Novartis’s tab. “The acquisition of IFM Due represents the culmination of a highly productive, four-year preclinical collaboration between Novartis and IFM to develop novel small-molecule STING inhibitors with the potential to treat a spectrum of inflammatory diseases,” Richard Siegal, global head of immunology research at Novartis, said in a prepared statement. “We are excited to advance IFM Due’s STING program and leverage our deep expertise in inflammation science to bring forward transformative medicines that address major unmet patient needs.” Novartis’s IFM Due acquisition comes as a potential rival makes progress with its own research drugging the cGAS-STING pathway. At the start of this year, Ventus Therapeutics began a Phase 1 trial for VENT-03, a molecule the company claims is the first cGAS inhibitor to enter clinical development. In an interview during the J.P. Morgan Health Care Conference in San Francisco in January, Ventus CEO Marcelo Bigal said previous efforts to drug cGAS have fallen short because even though drug hunters could hit the target, their molecules failed to show sufficient potency to make them viable medicines. Bigal said the cell is a dynamic environment in which protein shapes change with the movement of fluid. Ventus’s ReSOLVE technology analyzes proteins in this watery environment to find the pockets where a molecule can bind to its target. “If the proof is in the pudding, I think what ReSOLVE has is the pudding,” Bigal said. Ventus’s Phase 1 trial of VENT-03 is testing various doses of the drug candidate in healthy volunteers. Preliminary data are expected in the second half of this year.