Sorrento Announces That Its Subsidiary Levena and Its Partner Escugen Have Received Clearance to Begin Clinical Trials With Anti-TROP-2 Antibody Drug Conjugate For Multiple Solid Tumors

Anti-TROP-2 coupled to SN38 (a DNA polymerase inhibitor) (ESG-401) has received approval to begin clinical trials.ESG-401 addresses a highly unmet need for the treatment of multiple solid tumors, including triple-negative breast cancer and urothelial carcinoma. SAN DIEGO, July 21, 2021 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Sorrento Therapeutics, Inc. (Nasdaq: SRNE, “Sorrento”) announced today its partner Escugen Biotechnology Co, Ltd. (“Escugen”) and Sorrento’s subsidiary Levena (Suzhou) Biopharma Co., Ltd. (“Levena”) have received an approval letter from the Center for Drug Evaluation (CDE) of the National Medical Products Administration (NMPA) for its Application for Clinical Trial (Acceptance No. CXSL2101069) of Recombinant Humanized Anti-Trop2 Mab-SN38 Conjugate. The TROP-2 ADC (ESG-401) was jointly developed by Shanghai-based Escugen and Levena, and the two companies jointly own the domestic and international patents for this ADC and share global rights for the product. ESG-401 has potentially distinct differentiating advantages over its competitors in terms of safety, effectiveness and process robustness. Using an innovative, highly stable and cleavable linker, this ADC demonstrated in a series of preclinical studies that it releases very little free toxin during circulation, highly enriches in tumor tissues and rapidly endocytoses, thereby effectively killing tumor cells and inhibiting tumor growth. In the preclinical studies, ESG-401 demonstrated excellent safety, with no off-target or off-tumor toxicity observed in those high-dose, repetitively administered non-human primates. Additionally, ESG-401 showed significant antitumor activity in a variety of tumor models expressing TROP-2, with a low effective dosage and long inhibition time on tumor growth. ESG-401 potentially addresses a highly unmet need for the treatment of multiple solid tumors, including triple-negative breast cancer and urothelial carcinoma. Sorrento intends to file a US IND for this ESG-401 before the end of the year. About Sorrento Therapeutics, Inc. Sorrento is a clinical stage, antibody-centric, biopharmaceutical company developing new therapies to treat cancers and COVID-19. Sorrento’s multimodal, multipronged approach to fighting cancer is made possible by its extensive immuno-oncology platforms, including key assets such as fully human antibodies (“G-MAB™ library”), clinical stage immuno-cellular therapies (“CAR-T”, “DAR-T™”), antibody-drug conjugates (“ADCs”), and clinical stage oncolytic virus (“Seprehvir™”). Sorrento is also developing potential antiviral therapies and vaccines against coronaviruses, including COVIGUARD™, COVI-AMG™, COVISHIELD™, Gene-MAb™, COVI-MSC™ and COVIDROPS™; and diagnostic test solutions, including COVITRACK™, COVISTIX™ and COVITRACE™. Sorrento’s commitment to life-enhancing therapies for patients is also demonstrated by our effort to advance a first-in-class (TRPV1 agonist) non-opioid pain management small molecule, resiniferatoxin (“RTX”), and SP-102 (10 mg, dexamethasone sodium phosphate viscous gel) (SEMDEXA™), a novel, viscous gel formulation of a widely used corticosteroid for epidural injections to treat lumbosacral radicular pain, or sciatica, and to commercialize ZTlido® (lidocaine topical system) 1.8% for the treatment of post-herpetic neuralgia. RTX has completed a Phase IB trial for intractable pain associated with cancer and a Phase 1B trial in osteoarthritis patients. SEMDEXA is in a pivotal Phase 3 trial for the treatment of lumbosacral radicular pain, or sciatica. ZTlido® was approved by the FDA on February 28, 2018. For more information visit www.sorrentotherapeutics.com. Forward-Looking Statements This press release and any statements made for and during any presentation or meeting contain forward-looking statements related to Sorrento Therapeutics, Inc., under the safe harbor provisions of Section 21E of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 and subject to risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from those projected. Forward-looking statements include statements regarding the potential therapeutic benefits of ESG-401; the potential differentiating advantages of ESG-401 over its competitors; the potential safety and efficacy of ESG-401; the potential for ESG-401 to multiple solid tumors, including triple-negative breast cancer and urothelial carcinoma; and Sorrento’s expected timing for filing a US IND. Risks and uncertainties that could cause our actual results to differ materially and adversely from those expressed in our forward-looking statements, include, but are not limited to: risks related to Sorrento’s and its subsidiaries’, affiliates’ and partners’ technologies and prospects and collaborations with partners, including, but not limited to risks related to conducting and receiving results of clinical trials for ESG-401; the viability and success of using ESG-401 for treatments in therapeutic areas, including triple-negative breast cancer and urothelial carcinoma; clinical development risks, including risks in the progress, timing, cost, and results of clinical trials and product development programs; risk of difficulties or delays in obtaining regulatory approvals; risks that clinical study results may not meet any or all endpoints of a clinical study and that any data generated from such studies may not support a regulatory submission or approval; risks that prior test, study and trial results may not be replicated in future studies and trials; risks of manufacturing and supplying drug product; risks related to leveraging the expertise of its employees, subsidiaries, affiliates and partners to assist Sorrento in the execution of its therapeutic antibody product candidate strategies; risks related to the global impact of COVID-19; and other risks that are described in Sorrento’s most recent periodic reports filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission, including Sorrento’s Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2020, and subsequent Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission, including the risk factors set forth in those filings. Investors are cautioned not to place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements, which speak only as of the date of this release and we undertake no obligation to update any forward-looking statement in this press release except as required by law. Media and Investor Relations ContactAlexis Nahama, DVM (SVP Corporate Development)Email: [email protected] Sorrento® and the Sorrento logo are registered trademarks of Sorrento Therapeutics, Inc. G-MAB™, DAR-T™, SOFUSA™, COVIGUARD™, COVI-AMG™, COVISHIELD™, Gene-MAb™, COVIDROPS™, COVI-MSC™, COVITRACK™, COVITRACE™ and COVISTIX™ are trademarks of Sorrento Therapeutics, Inc. SEMDEXA™ is a trademark of Semnur Pharmaceuticals, Inc. ZTlido® is a registered trademark owned by Scilex Pharmaceuticals Inc. All other trademarks are the property of their respective owners. ©2021 Sorrento Therapeutics, Inc. All Rights Reserved.