PDS receives $4.5m from net sale of tax benefits

NetScientific plc

("NetScientific", the "Group" or the "Company")

PDS Biotech Receives $4.5M After Selling Its Net Operating Loss Tax Benefits Through The New Jersey Economic Development Program

London, UK - 18 May 2021 - NetScientific plc (AIM: NSCI), the international life sciences and sustainability technology investment and commercialisation Group, announces that its portfolio company PDS Biotechnology Corporation (Nasdaq: PDSB) yesterday announced the receipt of $4.5 million from the net sale of tax benefits to an unrelated, profitable New Jersey corporation pursuant to the Company's participation in the New Jersey Technology Business Tax Certificate Transfer Net Operating Loss (NOL) program for State Fiscal Year 2020.

Dr. Frank Bedu-Addo, President and Chief Executive Officer of PDS Biotech commented: "We are pleased to receive an allocation from the New Jersey NOL program. The funding will be beneficial to us as we continue to efficiently utilize our resources to advance our immuno-oncology pipeline through development."

Dr. Ilian Iliev, CEO of NetScientific and Director of PDS Biotechnology commented: "We are pleased at PDS' successful sale of historical losses for a substantial amount. This is a great example of a NetScientific portfolio company using non-dilutive sources of funding to further its growth objectives."

NetScientific holds 5.75% of PDS on an undiluted basis.

The full text of the announcement from PDS Biotechnology is reproduced below and is available online here: https://www.pdsbiotech.com/investors/news-center/press-releases/press-releases1/113-2021-news/521-iotecheceives45fterellingtsetperating20210517

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FLORHAM PARK, N.J., May 17, 2021 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- PDS Biotechnology Corporation (Nasdaq: PDSB), a clinical-stage immunotherapy company developing novel cancer therapies and infectious disease vaccines based on the Company's proprietary Versamune® T-cell activating technology, today announced the receipt of $4.5 million from the net sale of tax benefits to an unrelated, profitable New Jersey corporation pursuant to the Company's participation in the New Jersey Technology Business Tax Certificate Transfer Net Operating Loss (NOL) program for State Fiscal Year 2020.

"We are pleased to receive an allocation from the New Jersey NOL program," said Frank Bedu-Addo, Chief Executive Officer of PDS Biotech. "The funding will be beneficial to us as we continue to efficiently utilize our resources to advance our immuno-oncology pipeline through development."

The NOL program enables qualified, unprofitable NJ-based technology or biotechnology companies with fewer than 225 U.S. employees (including parent company and all subsidiaries) to sell a percentage of net operating losses and research and development (R&D) tax credits to unrelated profitable corporations. This allows qualifying technology and biotechnology companies with NOLs to turn their tax losses and credits into cash proceeds to fund growth and operations, including research and development or other allowable expenditures. PDS Biotech is one of 49 early-stage companies to share in approximately $54.5 million of tax credit transfers approved by NJEDA for the 2020 period.

About PDS Biotechnology

PDS Biotech is a clinical-stage immunotherapy company developing a growing pipeline of cancer immunotherapies and infectious disease vaccines based on the Company's proprietary Versamune® T-cell activating technology platform. Our Versamune®-based products overcome the limitations of current immunotherapy by inducing in vivo, large quantities of high-quality, highly potent polyfunctional tumor specific CD4+ helper and CD8+ killer T-cells. PDS Biotech has developed multiple therapies, based on combinations of Versamune® and disease-specific antigens, designed to train the immune system to better recognize diseased cells and effectively attack and destroy them. Our immuno-oncology product candidates are initially being studied in combination therapy to potentially enhance efficacy without compounding toxicity across a range of cancer types. The company's lead investigational cancer immunotherapy product PDS0101 is currently in Phase 2 clinical studies in HPV-associated cancers. To learn more, please visit www.pdsbiotech.com or follow us on Twitter at @PDSBiotech.

Forward Looking Statements

This communication contains forward-looking statements (including within the meaning of Section 21E of the United States Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, and Section 27A of the United States Securities Act of 1933, as amended) concerning PDS Biotechnology Corporation (the "Company") and other matters. These statements may discuss goals, intentions and expectations as to future plans, trends, events, results of operations or financial condition, or otherwise, based on current beliefs of the Company's management, as well as assumptions made by, and information currently available to, management. Forward-looking statements generally include statements that are predictive in nature and depend upon or refer to future events or conditions, and include words such as "may," "will," "should," "would," "expect," "anticipate," "plan," "likely," "believe," "estimate," "project," "intend," "forecast," "guidance", "outlook" and other similar expressions among others. Forward-looking statements are based on current beliefs and assumptions that are subject to risks and uncertainties and are not guarantees of future performance. Actual results could differ materially from those contained in any forward-looking statement as a result of various factors, including, without limitation: the Company's ability to protect its intellectual property rights; the Company's anticipated capital requirements, including the Company's anticipated cash runway and the Company's current expectations regarding its plans for future equity financings; the Company's dependence on additional financing to fund its operations and complete the development and commercialization of its product candidates, and the risks that raising such additional capital may restrict the Company's operations or require the Company to relinquish rights to the Company's technologies or product candidates; the Company's limited operating history in the Company's current line of business, which makes it difficult to evaluate the Company's prospects, the Company's business plan or the likelihood of the Company's successful implementation of such business plan; the timing for the Company or its partners to initiate the planned clinical trials for PDS0101, PDS0203 and other Versamune® based products; the future success of such trials; the successful implementation of the Company's research and development programs and collaborations, including any collaboration studies concerning PDS0101, PDS0203 and other Versamune® based products and the Company's interpretation of the results and findings of such programs and collaborations and whether such results are sufficient to support the future success of the Company's product candidates; the success, timing and cost of the Company's ongoing clinical trials and anticipated clinical trials for the Company's current product candidates, including statements regarding the timing of initiation, pace of enrollment and completion of the trials (including our ability to fully fund our disclosed clinical trials, which assumes no material changes to our currently projected expenses), futility analyses, presentations at conferences and data reported in an abstract, and receipt of interim results, which are not necessarily indicative of the final results of the Company's ongoing clinical trials; the acceptance by the market of the Company's product candidates, if approved; the timing of and the Company's ability to obtain and maintain U.S. Food and Drug Administration or other regulatory authority approval of, or other action with respect to, the Company's product candidates; and other factors, including legislative, regulatory, political and economic developments not within the Company's control, including unforeseen circumstances or other disruptions to normal business operations arising from or related to COVID-19. The foregoing review of important factors that could cause actual events to differ from expectations should not be construed as exhaustive and should be read in conjunction with statements that are included herein and elsewhere, including the risk factors included in the Company's annual and periodic reports filed with the SEC. The forward-looking statements are made only as of the date of this press release and, except as required by applicable law, the Company undertakes no obligation to revise or update any forward-looking statement, or to make any other forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.

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Further details and the information required in accordance with the requirements of Article 19(3) of the EU Market Abuse Regulation No 596/2014 are set out at the end of this announcement.

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About NetScientific

NetScientific plc (AIM: NSCI) is a holding company, that invests in, develops, commercialises and realises shareholder value in life sciences/healthcare, sustainability and technology companies, which offer significant growth potential predominately in the UK and USA, as well as globally. 

With the acquisition of EMV Capital in August 2020, the Group doubled its portfolio from 8 to 17 companies, either through direct subsidiary, balance sheet investment or capital under advisory, varying from start-up private companies to publicly listed equities. 

NetScientific delivers shareholder returns through a proactive and hands-on management approach to their portfolio companies; identifying, investing in, and helping to build game-changing companies. The Group targets value inflection points and the release of value through partial or full exits from trade sales, public listings, or equity sales. The Company has a strong transatlantic and growing international presence, providing attractive expansion prospects. 

NSCI can deploy a capital-light investment structure; utilising the power of the PLC Brand, and the NetScientific balance sheet to anchor future investments and achieve a multiplier effect by attracting 3rd party investment for the portfolio companies. 

NetScientific is headquartered in London, United Kingdom, and was admitted to trading on AIM, a market operated by the London Stock Exchange, in 2013 (website: www.netscientific.net).