Exclusive Interview With Dr. Carolyn Myers, CEO of FendX Technologies Inc.

The Conversation

MedicalGold

Carolyn, it's great to speak with you today. FendX is a nanotechnology company focused on reducing the spread of pathogens to keep surfaces safe from contamination. You have developed two primary applications, film and spray. Would you please tell us about FendX and why you have committed to lead this company?

Carolyn Myers

FendX Technologies Inc. was incorporated in July 2020 to license nanotechnology created by McMaster University with the intention to further development surface coating prototypes that protect surfaces from contamination and the spread of potentially lethal pathogens. I became interested in this nanotechnology because McMaster had demonstrated that films made from this nanotechnology instantly reduce adherence of MRSA, E. Coli and COVID-like viruses by more than 98% and significantly reduce their spread¹. This is because, if pathogens can’t adhere, they can’t replicate and spread. I believe if we can successfully develop products using our nanotechnology, we may be able to contribute to the global efforts to reduce the spread of potentially lethal pathogen, especially health-associated infections which is one of the top 10 leading causes of death in the world, and in the U.S. alone, about 99,000 people die annually (excluding COVID-19 related deaths)2. Also, the cost to treat these infections, which are mostly bacteria resistant to antibiotics, is estimated at more than $28 billion each year². The problem is that current disinfecting practices are not proving sufficient to keep these pathogens from spreading, and I believe we may be developing products that could help in the fight to control their spread.

¹ ACS Appl. Mater. Interfaces 2022, 14, 11068-11077; ACSApplied Materials and Interfaces, 2023, 15, 16253-16265

2 https://www.healthcaresurfacesinstitute.org/healthcare-associated-infections-stats/

MedicalGold

How do you envision the film and sprays in development being utilized in the future? What is the audience for these products? How large could the customer base be potentially?

Carolyn Myers

We are focused on protecting surfaces prone to contamination. Viruses and bacteria are all around us on common surfaces like bed rails, tables, doors, railings, taps etc. They cling, grow and thrive on these surfaces and can survive for long periods of time unless the surfaces are disinfected. We believe our lead product in development, REPELWRAP™ film, could provide additional protection to current disinfecting practices in billion-dollar market like healthcare settings as well as in other high-traffic high-touch point industries. Our spray nanotechnology that we licensed from McMaster in May is a spray-on version of REPELWRAP™ film with the same repelling properties. It also has a secondary benefit in that it effectively inactivates residual pathogens on the coated surface. The spray nanotechnology is an important addition to our pipeline as I believe a spray-on product could be easier to apply to many surfaces and expand our potential market opportunities.

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MedicalGold

What is your background? Tell us about other key members of the FendX team please.

Carolyn Myers

I am an accomplished senior executive with extensive experience creating, leading and growing healthcare businesses. I have held positions in large cap pharmaceutical companies including President of Dey Laboratories, President of Mylan Technologies Inc. (both acquired by Pfizer) and Vice President International Business Development and Alliance Management at Allergan PLC (acquired by AbbVie). Prior to serving in these roles, I held various senior management positions in sales and marketing at Pharmacia Corporation (acquired by Pfizer). I have a PhD in genetics from the University of British Columbia and an MBA from Rutgers University.

Andrea Mulder is the COO of FendX. She is an experienced senior commercial healthcare executive with sales and marketing expertise leading launch strategies at large cap pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies.  She has significant therapeutic knowledge across multiple therapeutic areas and has been an active member of leadership and commercial teams at Eisai Canada, Ipsen, GlaxoSmithKline, Roche, Johnson and Johnson and Pfizer in Canada.  Andrea earned her degree at the University of Toronto in Health Sciences-Kinesiology and her EMBA at the University of Fredericton, New Brunswick.

Rose Zanic is FendX’s CFO. She has over 25 years of experience in capital markets and corporate finance. She is a self-employed corporate finance professional with significant experience advising Canadian public companies with financing, M&A transactions and providing public company administration. She previously spent 19 years with Wolverton Securities Ltd. where she was Senior Vice-President, Corporate Finance in charge of that firm’s corporate finance and syndication departments. Rose holds a CPA, CA designation and received a Bachelor of Commerce degree from the University of British Columbia. She currently is a director and/or officer of several Canadian publicly listed companies and is also a member of the TSX Venture Exchange BC Local Advisory Committee.

MedicalGold

As soon as I hear films and spray, I think of 3M, who are your competitors in this space?

Carolyn Myers

According to Future Markets Inc., a market research firm who consolidates their research findings in syndicated reports, estimated the antimicrobial coating market at $11 billion in 2027³. This is the market that FendX will compete in should our products reach the commercialization stage. I believe our nanotechnology is unique and differentiated from current protective film coatings in the marketplace as McMaster has shown our nano-tech surfaces instantly repel and prevent bacteria and viruses like MRSA and is effective in instantly repelling COVID-19 like viruses from adhering to the nano-surface and reducing their spread significantly. Most competitive films incorporate metal ions like copper or silver into their films that kill bacteria and viruses when they come in contact with the surface. Other competitive films require activation by light or other activators to kill pathogens that come into contact with the surface. However, inactivation on these competitive surfaces can take hours or potentially even days, leaving people at risk of being exposed to these contaminated surfaces until the bacteria or viruses are killed. FendX believes REPELWRAP™ film will be the first film coating that instantly repels bacteria and viruses reducing the likelihood of people being contaminated when they touch surfaces coated with it.

³https://www.futuremarketsinc.com/the-global-market-for-advanced-antimicrobial-coatings-and-technologies-2023-2033/

MedicalGold

Can you explain how FendX's nanotechnology works to repel contaminants from surfaces?

Carolyn Myers

The nanotechnology created by McMaster was Inspired by the hydrophobic lotus leaf which repels water off its surface. Our nanotechnology, however, not only repels water but repels bacteria, viruses, blood and other liquids. The surface is made of nanoscopic wrinkles which prevent nano-scale particles like bacteria and viruses from being able to stick. These nano-surfaces are at least a billion times smaller than we can see with the naked eye, and they are of the right size to prevent bacteria and viruses from sticking as these bugs work at the nanoscopic level. In order for bacteria and viruses that reside on surfaces to spread, they need to adhere to surfaces to replicate, and if they can’t adhere, they can’t replicate and spread. That’s what our nano-surfaces have demonstrated in McMaster’s lab.

MedicalGold

What's next for FendX and what are some important milestones that investors can look forward to?

Carolyn Myers

REPELWRAP™ film: This is our lead product under development. In June 2023, FendX announced its manufacturing partner, Dunmore International Corp. (“Dunmore”), a Steel Partners Holdings L.P. (NYSE: SPLP) operating company, successfully replicated film production in their R&D lab and are now progressing conducting small pilot runs on their commercial manufacturing line to create intermediate sized films for testing, including testing in real world conditions. If intermediate scale-up can be demonstrated, we intend to move to the commercial scale-up phase with a third-party manufacturer to create a commercial product, which would be tested to ensure it meets the repelling, durability, and stability specifications. The next step would be for us to commercialize this product using manufacturing and distributor partnerships still to be entered into. We estimate the commercial launch REPELWRAP™ film in the Canadian market in mid-2024, conditional on achieving successful scaleup assessment, product scale-up and commercial manufacturing.  After launching in Canada, we intend to seek any required approvals for launch in the United States as well as certain European and Asian countries in the longer term.

Spray Nanotechnology: The project is in an early stage of development in collaboration with McMaster University. When sprayed onto a surface, it forms a protective film coating the same as REPELWRAP™ film and demonstrates the same repelling properties. In addition, it effectively inactivates residual pathogens on the coated surface. We are collaborating with McMaster to further develop the spray nanotechnology and believe a spray formulation will be important to control the spread of pathogens on surfaces that are prone to contamination, as a potential spray product could be easier to apply to many surfaces and may expand potential market applications. When an advanced lab prototype spray has been developed, we intend to engage a third-party manufacturer to conduct intermediate scale-up development work and, upon further success, proceed to commercial scale-up work, similar to what is required to scale-up and commercialize the REPELWRAP™ film. To-date, the Company has not entered into any agreements with third parties for scale-up assessment or intermediate scale-up work.

Other Potential Products: We are also exploring additional applications of our nanotechnology, including development of enhancements to the current REPELWRAP™ film to create follow-on films including films with both repelling and killing properties. Also, FendX plans to assess the nanotechnology to develop a coating for catheters to prevent catheter-related blood clot or bacterial biofilm formation and occlusion. To date, FendX in collaboration with McMaster are in early-stage research to assess these additional applications, but FendX believes they will be important additions to the current projects as they may provide expanded applications of their nanotechnology. In addition, to organic growth, we are exploring M&A and licensing opportunities of technologies and/or products that are complementary to our current business strategy to reduce the spread of pathogens. We are currently exploring different opportunities. In addition, we have received a lot of interest in our nanotechnology, and we are exploring potential partnerships to develop new products and expand our pipeline.

FendX Technologies Inc. General Disclaimer:

This article contains certain forward-looking statements within the meaning of Canadian securities legislation, including with respect to: the plans of the Company; expectations regarding industry trends, including with respect to the antimicrobial surface and coating market, overall market growth rates and the Company’s growth rates and growth strategies; that microbe repellent technology is a promising, high-growth industry; the use of available funds; the performance of the Company’s business and operations; the Company’s expectations regarding revenues, expenses and anticipated cash needs; the intention to grow the Company’s business and operations; the expected timing and completion of the Company’s near-term objectives; laws and regulations and any amendments thereto applicable to the Company; the Company’s competitive advantages and business strategies; the Company’s future product offerings, including potential new applications (i.e. catheters) and new formulations (i.e. spray); the Company’s research and development initiatives and expected results thereof; the Company’s growing patent portfolio; the Company entering into distribution, manufacturing and other business relationships, in Canada, the United States, and globally; the potential of the Company’s technology to protect against the spread of pathogens on surfaces through repelling bacteria and viruses that come in contact with its surface; that the Company’s technology will bring significant value in controlling the spread of surface borne infectious diseases; trends regarding healthcare-acquired infections; proprietary REPELWRAP™ film could be used on high-touch surfaces such as bed rails, doorknobs, and medical devices to help prevent pathogen transmission; the Company’s nanotechnology has the potential to be applied to other types of surfaces and materials –such as catheters which could significantly help reduce blockages caused by bacterial colony and/or blood clot formation in long-use catheters and that underserved markets like this offer potentially future upside, if the Company can successfully adapt their technology; the Company’s intention to initially target REPELWRAP™ film towards healthcare settings and high traffic public touchpoints; that as the Company continues its product development, we may see it used to protect surfaces in other high traffic places like the transportation, education, sports and entertainment sectors; the growing global commitment to reduce the spread of pathogens; the development of the Company’s spray nanotechnology, which could be easier to apply to many surfaces and expand potential market applications; the Company’s organic growth strategy and expansion strategy; line extensions for REPELWRAP™ film; further development of core technology into additional applications (i.e. catheters); expansion into vertical markets; licensing of additional nanotechnology formulations and/or complementary products that reduce pathogen spread; potential licensing, M&A and partnerships within the infectious disease space; and that REPELWRAP™ film will provide additional protection to current disinfecting practices to control the spread of pathogens.

Important factors that could cause future results to differ materially from those anticipated in these forward-looking statements include: product candidates only being in formulation/reformulation stages; limited operating history, no revenues and uncertainty around additional financing; negative cash flow history; no production history and lack of revenues from sales; no history of manufacturing or distribution; highly competitive industry; satisfying the terms of the License Agreement, Spray License Agreement and Collaborative Research Agreement between the Company and McMaster University and maintaining licenses in good standing; inability of McMaster University to satisfy the terms under the License Agreement, Spray License Agreement and Collaborative Research Agreement; completion of scale-up and development of a commercial product; research and development activities; reliance on grant funding; limited number of products; dependence on collaborative partners, licensors and others; changes and restrictions due to legal and regulatory requirements; dependence on each product’s acceptance in the market; possibility of smaller market opportunities than anticipated; increasing regulatory and compliance costs for public companies; global economic instability; product liability claims and lawsuits; system failures; reliance on management and loss of key employees or inability to hire key personnel; limited experience of senior management in managing a public company; fraudulent or illegal activity by employees, contractors and consultants; inability to effect service of process on some of the Company’s directors and officers; management’s efforts and abilities; potential conflicts of interest; inability to protect intellectual property rights; inability to secure patents or grow its patent portfolio; infringement on proprietary rights of third parties; risks related to forward-looking information; volatility of the market price of the Company’s common shares; potential dilution of the common shares; lack of an active, liquid and orderly trading market for the common shares; failure of securities or industry analysts to publish research or publish inaccurate or unfavorable research about the Company; inability or unwillingness to pay dividends; exchange rate fluctuations between the Canadian dollar and the U.S. dollar; effect of COVID-19 public health crisis or another global health pandemic; use of available funds; effect of general economic and political conditions; internal controls; and other risk factors set forth in the Company’s final prospectus dated January 31, 2023 under the heading “Risk Factors” and other filings, publicly available through the Canadian Securities Administrators’ System for Electronic Document Analysis and Retrieval (SEDAR) at www.sedarplus.ca. The reader is urged to refer to the Company’s prospectus and other filings, publicly available through SEDAR at www.sedarplus.ca for a more complete discussion of such risk factors and their potential effects. Except to the extent required by applicable securities laws and the policies of the Canadian Securities Exchange, the Company undertakes no obligation to update these forward-looking statements if management’s beliefs, estimates or opinions, or other factors, should change. New factors emerge from time to time, and it is not possible for the Company to predict all of them or assess the impact of each such factor or the extent to which any factor, or combination of factors, may cause results to differ materially from those contained in any forward-looking statement. Any Forward-looking statements contained in this presentation are expressly qualified in their entirety by this cautionary statement.

While the information contained in this presentation is believed to be accurate, the Company expressly disclaims any and all liability for any losses, claims or damages of whatsoever kind based upon the information contained in, or omissions from, this presentation or any oral communication transmitted in connection therewith. In addition, none of the statements contained in this presentation are intended to be, nor shall be deemed to be, representations or warranties of the Company. Where the information is from third-party sources, the information is from sources believed to be reliable, but the Company has not independently verified any of such information contained herein.

This presentation is not, and under no circumstances is to be construed as, a prospectus, an offering memorandum, an advertisement or a public offering of securities. Under no circumstances should the information contained herein be considered an offer to sell or a solicitation of an offer to buy any securities.

Disclosure

FendX Technologies Inc. is a sponsor of Medical Gold.ca. Sponsors of MedicalGold.ca pay for one year of coverage in order to increase awareness of a product, service, person, company or idea. Coverage of sponsor companies is for information; illustrative purposes only. MedicalGold.ca  strives to increase awareness of companies while remaining as objective as possible. Nothing contained in articles; written interviews on MedicalGold.ca is an offer/solicitation to Buy or Sell securities. Readers are strongly advised to consult with their own licensed or registered financial advisors before making investment decisions. Micro-cap companies are highly speculative, investors in its securities could experience up to 100% loss of invested funds.