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BAT creates biotech company KBio to accelerate development of existing plant-based technology

January 7, 2022

• KBio will leverage BAT’s existing capabilities to advance its plant-based technology and existing clinical and pre-clinical pipeline
• Quality Assurance and Control Certification
• More than 20 publication on bioanalytical methods and plant-based proteins
• Ph.D. in Bioanalytical Chemistry from University of Kentucky

BAT today announced the launch of KBio Holdings Limited (KBio) to accelerate the research, development and production of novel treatments.

KBio will leverage the existing and extensive plant-based technology capabilities of BAT and Kentucky BioProcessing Inc (KBP), the existing BAT-owned US plant biologics organisation.

KBio will explore new opportunities to develop its plant-based production system, which has the potential to offer greater speed, scale-up opportunity and thermostability.

The new company will focus on delivering treatments for rare and infectious diseases by realising and expanding the potential of both the plant-based technology platform, as well as its existing clinical and pre-clinical vaccines and antibody pipeline. KBio will look to form innovative R&D collaborations and financing aimed at expanding its pipeline and future portfolio, with an ambition of financial self-sufficiency.

Supporting the company’s future plans, a standalone operational structure for KBio is being established. This includes building a new executive leadership team led by Patrick Doyle as the Chief Executive Officer of KBio. Mr. Doyle brings more than 20 years of experience leading innovative biotech companies.

Patrick Doyle, CEO at KBio, said: “I am excited by the opportunity to build on the significant accomplishments made by BAT and KBP. I am confident in the potential of KBio’s powerful plant-based platform, capabilities and emerging early-stage pipeline. To-date, the technology has demonstrated its ability to produce novel antibody and vaccine candidates with high purity at a fraction of the time and cost of current technologies. The speed and efficiency demonstrated by the KBio platform has significant potential. This could enable us to progress to clinical studies faster than industry norms, in the hope of delivering treatment solutions more quickly.”

Dr. David O’Reilly, BAT’s Director of Scientific Research, said: “Science and innovation are fundamental to BAT and delivering on our purpose of building A Better Tomorrow. We recognise the potential of our innovative plant-based technology and have established KBio to maximise that potential. We are excited to see what the future holds.”

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NOTES TO EDITORS

PATRICK DOYLE BIO

Patrick Doyle brings more than 20 years of leadership experience within pharmaceutical and biotech companies to his new role as CEO of KBio. He is a proven leader with a track record of innovation, talent development, and a deep knowledge of pharmaceutical development, M&A and pathways to successful commercialisation. He most recently served as CEO of Stelexis Therapeutics in New York, a biotech company with a proprietary platform to discover and selectively target pre-cancerous stem cells. Mr. Doyle has also been responsible for multiple financings and strategic exits of biotechs of various stages of development. During his Big Pharma tenure, he led an international group of corporate development executives executing several large alliances in Asia and Japan.

Patrick is originally from the UK, and has worked in the UK, Switzerland, California and more recently in New York City. He has a BSc in Pharmacology from the University of Sunderland.

ABOUT KBIO

KBio aims to create a new generation of biotech solutions using its plant-based platform that has demonstrated an ability to create drug candidates at a fraction of the time and cost of current platforms. The company is focused on developing novel product candidates in two core areas: 1) Antibody therapies for areas of high unmet need; and 2) Pandemic preparedness and response for future pandemics using its plant-based production system to create antibodies and vaccines in shorter timeframes than industry norms.

• Formed in 2021
• KBio is based in the UK and is a subsidiary of BAT
• For more information, please visit www.kbio.com