Mr. Kim Oishi reports

RAKOVINA THERAPEUTICS SECURES EXCLUSIVITY ON OPTIMIZED KT-5000 LEAD PROFILE FROM VARIATIONAL AI

Rakovina Therapeutics Inc. has amended and extended its research services agreement with Vancouver-based Variational AI Inc. The new agreement will grant Rakovina exclusivity on the target product profile being pursued for its kt-5000 ATR inhibitor program.

Under the amendment, Variational AI will not design, generate or deliver to any other party, compounds intended to meet the specific combination of potency, selectivity, drug-like properties and brain penetration that Rakovina has defined for a potential kt-5000 development candidate throughout the agreed term. Variational AI will also provide additional AI-powered (artificial intelligence) lead optimization cycles beyond the five cycles delivered to date, at no additional cost to Rakovina. Variational AI's Enki generative AI platform will be used to iteratively optimize leads, generating and prioritizing multiple compound designs, while Rakovina will retain control over which candidates advance into laboratory testing and further development.

In return for the extended term and enhanced exclusivity, the amendment grants Variational AI increased milestone payments upon nomination of a drug candidate and completion of an outlicensing transaction, further aligning the partnership around the program's success.

The kt-5000 program comprises small-molecule inhibitors of ATR, a central regulator of the DNA damage response. Rakovina has previously reported preclinical data supporting potent ATR inhibition, drug-like properties and CNS (central nervous system) penetration in the kt-5000 series. The company's current kt-5000 program is focused on developing next-generation ATR inhibitors designed to address the challenges of treating tumours in the central nervous system.

"The kt-5000 program is targeting a particularly challenging combination of properties: potent and selective ATR inhibition, together with the drug-like characteristics and CNS penetration required to reach tumours in the brain," said Dr. Mads Daugaard, president and chief scientific officer of Rakovina Therapeutics. "The ability to iteratively optimize against this defined target profile using Variational AI's Enki platform has been highly valuable to our research program. Securing exclusivity around this profile is a meaningful step because it preserves the differentiation we are working to create as we move the program toward candidate selection."

"After only five optimization cycles and under 100 compounds synthesized, the kt-5000 work has produced leads we are genuinely excited about," said Handol Kim, co-founder and chief executive officer of Variational AI. "The progress reflects the ability of Enki to rapidly explore chemical space and efficiently optimize these novel leads against a highly specific target profile. Providing Rakovina with exclusivity on that profile recognizes the progress made to date and the strength of the collaboration between our teams. We are pleased to extend the collaboration as the program moves rapidly toward development candidate selection."

"Our collaboration with Variational AI has fundamentally changed the economics of drug discovery for Rakovina," said Kim Oishi, chief executive officer of Rakovina Therapeutics. "Using the Enki platform, we have advanced kt-5000 in a fraction of the time and at a fraction of the cost of a conventional discovery program. For a company of our size, that efficiency decides whether a program like this can be funded at all. It has let us build a differentiated ATR program designed to reach tumours in the brain while preserving capital for the work ahead. This amendment protects our access to the profile we've defined and gives our team additional optimization cycles at no additional cost, carrying those savings through year-end. We believe this puts Rakovina in a stronger position as we work toward nominating a development candidate and engaging potential pharmaceutical partners."

About Rakovina Therapeutics Inc.

Rakovina Therapeutics is a biopharmaceutical research company focused on the development of innovative cancer treatments. Rakovina's work is based on unique technologies for targeting the DNA damage response powered by artificial intelligence (AI). By using AI, Rakovina can review and optimize drug candidates at a much greater pace than ever before.

The company has established a pipeline of distinctive DNA damage response inhibitors with the goal of advancing one or more drug candidates into human clinical trials in collaboration with pharmaceutical partners.

We seek Safe Harbor.