Mountain Valley MD Announces Successful Complexation of Ivermectin Drug in Quicksome™ Oral Strip and Commencement of Pre-clinical Trials

VANCOUVER, BC, August 6, 2020 /CNW/ - Mountain Valley MD Holdings Inc. (the "Company" or "MVMD") (CSE: MVMD) (FRA:20MP) is pleased to announce the commencement of two pre-clinical trials designed to demonstrate the efficacy of its proprietary Quicksome™ technology in overcoming key absorption limitations of the oral drug Ivermectin plus provide data on the pharmacokinetics of the Quicksome™ oral strip sublingual technology. In preparation for these clinical trials, the company has successfully complexed ivermectin into its proprietary Quicksome™ rapid dissolve oral strip technology.

Ivermectin is an antiparasitic drug that is administered to billions of livestock and companion animals annually and to humans to treat various parasitic infestations including development of broader applications for the control of malaria. According to the National Center for Biotechnology Information (NCBI)* research published in May 2020, ivermectin has antiviral potential to inhibit virus action and is currently being explored by various companies in clinical trials for potential use in treating COVID-19. Ivermectin is also widely used and available as an effective in vitro treatment against HIV, dengue, Zika virus, and others.

"Just in the animal health sector alone, ivermectin has been classified as a 'Blockbuster' drug for 20 years, achieving sales in excess of US$1 billion every year," stated Mike Farber, Director of Life Sciences at MVMD. "With the ongoing prevalence of parasitic infections such as ascariasis, lymphatic filariasis, and river blindness in humans and animals, plus numerous in vitro treatments, and advanced vaccine research, we believe our Quicksome™ technology applied against the opportunities with ivermectin are very significant."

According to the World Health Organization (WHO)**, 1.5 billion people were suffering from soil-transmitted helminth infections as of March 2020, which accounted for 24% of the world's population. Hookworm, Ascaris, and whipworm accounted for the largest soil-transmitted helminth burden across the globe. Ivermectin is part of the global antiparasitic drugs market that was valued at US$ 7.2 billion in 2019 and is expected to grow to US$ 10.8 billion by 2027 according to Coherent Market Insights (CMI)**.

"Management at Mountain Valley MD believe the results of these preclinical trials we are undertaking will demonstrate vastly improved efficacy of the ivermectin drug, including higher absorption, improved bioavailability and reduced variability," stated Dennis Hancock, President and CEO of Mountain Valley MD Inc. "We also believe the results of these studies can be extrapolated to a long list of similar class drugs including but not limited to anti-convulsants, such as Carbamazepine, pain killers such as Ketoprofen, and antibiotics such as Rifampicin, and even cannabinoids and their derivatives."

Ivermectin is a BCS Class IIa drug, with poor water solubility, poor absorption and highly variable oral bioavailability, and as such, the Company believes is an ideal candidate for use in preclinical trials to generate data that demonstrate the efficacy of the Quicksome™ technology to boost bioavailability and bio efficacy. The pre-clinical canine model studies were designed to prove both oral and sublingual superiority of the Quicksome™ formulations versus a commercial oral formulation tablet. The studies will examine maximum plasma concentration (Cmax), Time of Maximum concentration observed (Tmax), and Area Under the Curve (AUC) to measure time-based drug concentrations in the bloodstream for both the Quicksome™ ivermectin dose and the commercially available form to allow for direct comparisons.

"We believe there are countless drugs whose absorption profiles can be vastly improved through our Quicksome™ technology without the need for traditional Phase One through Phase Three studies," continued Hancock. "Our objective is to target the multiple billions of dollars of drugs currently in use and approved globally and work with pharmaceutical partners to reformulate for improved efficacy and onset with our Quicksome™ technology."

Referenced sources

* FDA-approved drug ivermectin inhibits the replication of SARS-CoV-2 in vitro

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7129059/

** World Health Organization, March 2, 2020 - Soil-transmitted helminth infections

https://www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/soil-transmitted-helminth-infections

*** Antiparasitic drug market data source https://www.coherentmarketinsights.com/market-insight/antiparasitic-drugs-market-3782

ABOUT MOUNTAIN VALLEY MD HOLDINGS INC.

Mountain Valley MD is building a world-class health and wellness organization centred around the implementation of its patented Quicksome™ oral drug formulation and delivery technologies to innovate industry leading products that are sought out globally.

MVMD's proposition for delivering Quicksome™ formulations that have rapid onset, high bioavailability, low variability and precision dosing is core to the Company's success across key health and wellness categories. Consistent with its vision towards "Helping People Live Their Best Life", MVMD applies its Quicksome™ technology to its ground-breaking work for the oral delivery of vaccines and pharmaceutical drugs as well as the development of products for pain management, weight loss, energy, focus, sleep, anxiety, and more.

The Company's patented Quicksome™ desiccation technology utilizes advanced liposomes and other stabilizing molecules to encapsulate and formulate active ingredients into highly efficient product formats that are consumed orally. The result is a new generation of product formulations that are capable of delivering vaccines, drugs and nutraceuticals into the body faster, with greater impact, efficiency and accuracy.

MVMD believes its health and wellness success will be bolstered further through Quicksome™ activation of cannabinoid molecules for pioneering medical cannabis applications. As such, MVMD also focuses on research and development, plant growth sciences and manufacturing across a portfolio of sustainable cannabis assets.

For more Company information and contact details, visit www.mountainvalleymd.com.

FORWARD-LOOKING INFORMATION DISCLAIMER

Certain statements contained in this news release may constitute forward-looking information. Forward-looking information is often, but not always, identified by the use of words such as "anticipate", "plan", "estimate", "expect", "may", "will", "intend", "should", and similar expressions. Forward-looking information involves known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that may cause actual results or events to differ materially from those anticipated in such forward-looking information. The Company's actual results could differ materially from those anticipated in this forward-looking information as a result of regulatory decisions, competitive factors in the industries in which the Company operates, prevailing economic conditions, and other factors, many of which are beyond the control of the Company. The Company is making forward-looking statements, including but not limited to with respect to the ability to apply the Company's Quicksome™ technology to ivermectin and other drug delivery methods, and related matters, including but not limited to related trials and the potential success, results and impact of such applications. The Company believes that the expectations reflected in the forward-looking information are reasonable, but no assurance can be given that these expectations will prove to be correct and such forward-looking information should not be unduly relied upon. Any forward-looking information contained in this news release represents the Company's expectations as of the date hereof and is subject to change after such date. The Company disclaims any intention or obligation to update or revise any forward-looking information whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, except as required by applicable securities legislation.

SOURCE Mountain Valley MD