Zentek Provides a Preliminary Update on Influenza Countermeasure Candidate Developed Using the Multivalent Aptamer Technology against H1N1 (Seasonal Influenza)
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Guelph, ON – September 18, 2025, Zentek Ltd. (“Zentek” or the “Company”) (Nasdaq: ZTEK; TSX-V: ZEN), is pleased to announce that it has completed the first in vivo tests of the lead candidate countermeasure for seasonal influenza (H1N1) as part of the Innovative Solutions Canada Testing Stream.
Highlights:
- Zentek was awarded approximately $1.1 million through the Government of Canada’s Innovative Solutions Canada (“ISC”) Testing Stream under Innovation, Science, and Economic Development Canada (“ISED”) for Health: Advanced And Emerging Medical Technologies.
- Government of Canada testing partners include ISED’s Health and Emergency Preparedness Canada (“HERC”) and Defence Research and Development Canada (“DRDC”), the science and technology organization of the Department of National Defence (“DND”).
- On April 23, 2025, Zentek announced in a market update that it had developed a lead candidate for highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) A(H5N1), with potential efficacy across other influenza strains.
- Testing of the lead candidate in vivo (mouse model) was facilitated by NexusHealth at McMaster University under the supervision of Dr. Matthew Miller.
- Animals given the aptamer lead candidate prophylactically had substantially improved clinical scores, 5x greater survival rates, 80% less weight loss 5 days post-infection, and decreased recovery times compared to the control group.
Zentek is pleased to report successful preliminary testing of a lead influenza aptamer countermeasure in an animal model. The aptamer countermeasure was developed for a Government of Canada contract through an ISC Testing Stream to develop a prophylactic and therapeutic lead candidate countermeasure for HPAI (H5N1). The countermeasure was produced using Zentek’s successful multi-valent aptamer strategy developed by Dr. Yingfu Li’s research group at McMaster University.
The aptamer countermeasure was selected and optimized for broad recognition of influenza hemagglutinin proteins with strong binding affinities for H1, H5, H2 and H3 and has shown to have strong neutralization against H1N1 and H5N1 when tested in vitro.
After successfully selecting a countermeasure in Phase 1 of the ISC Testing Stream contract, the program entered Phase 2 for the assessment of the performance of the aptamer countermeasure in in vivo models.
In the first in vivo test, animals were given a 150 µM prophylactic dose of either vehicle or the aptamer lead candidate two hours prior to a lethal challenge with A(H1N1)pdm09. Animals that were part of the control group experienced earlier and more severe clinical signs of infection than mice treated with the aptamer countermeasure. By day 7, 4 out of 5 mice (80%) in the control group reached endpoint. Only one animal that received the lead aptamer countermeasure reached end point, while the remaining mice fully recovered by day 9.
Following up on these encouraging results, researchers have improved the formulation and administration schedule of the treatment and have prepared materials for more comprehensive testing of the lead candidate’s performance against H1N1 and H5N1, which is scheduled to begin in a few weeks.
“We are very encouraged by these preliminary results,” said John Snisarenko B.Sc. MBA, Board member of Zentek with an extensive background in the U.S. and Canadian pharmaceutical and biotech industry, “Animals treated with the aptamer lead candidate showed substantially improved clinical scores, increased survivability by 5X and allowed for a rapid recovery from infection.”
Dr. Matthew Miller noted: “We are very encouraged by the fact that this lead aptamer countermeasure has shown activity against seasonal influenza viruses. Seasonal influenza effects over a billion people per year, and so there is a clear and immediate commercial need for this type of intervention. We are optimistic that our testing will also reveal therapeutic activity against highly pathogenic avian influenza H5N1 – which would result in a product with both seasonal and pandemic applications.”
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