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Helix Biopharma Corp. Extends LEUMUNA Option with metaShape Pharma for Adipose Tissue-Related and Metabolic Diseases
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(Toronto, Ontario; February 5, 2026) – TheNewswire - Helix BioPharma Corp. (TSX: “HBP”, OTC PINK: “HBPCD”, FRANKFURT: “HBP0”) (“Helix” or the “Company”), a clinical-stage oncology company shaping a near future where today’s hard-to-treat cancers are vincible, today announced the extension of its Research and Exclusive Option Agreement (the “Agreement”) with metaShape Pharma AG (“metaShape”) covering LEUMUNA™ through December 31, 2028.
The Agreement was originally entered into in April 2023 between metaShape and Laevoroc Immunology AG, providing metaShape with an exclusive research license and an option to negotiate a commercial license for LEUMUNA within the field of adipose tissue-related and metabolic diseases. Referred to internally at metaShape as “MS 001”, the compound is being developed as an orally administered, first-in-class co-therapy to GLP-1 receptor agonists, such as semaglutide, aimed at improving the selectivity of adipose tissue reduction and the durability of weight loss.
In metaShape-led preclinical studies, MS 001 was shown to increase inosine and nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide (NAD+) levels, supporting enhanced mitochondrial function, increased energy expenditure in adipose tissue, and broader metabolic efficiency. Consistent with these effects, treatment with MS 001 in mice maintained on a highly obesogenic diet was associated with improved weight loss outcomes and attenuated weight regain following GLP-1 withdrawal.
Following Helix’s acquisition of Laevoroc Immunology AG’s assets and related rights in November 2024, as amended, Helix became the successor licensor under the Agreement.1 In accordance with previously agreed terms, the parties have extended the option period through December 31, 2028, providing additional runway to advance research activities and support the progression of the program toward clinical-stage development. For Helix, the extension preserves long-term optionality in high-value metabolic indications, while maintaining a clear strategic focus on unlocking the potential of its oncology assets in hard-to-treat cancers.
“The extension of this agreement aligns with a period of meaningful progress for metaShape,” said Randall Riggs, MBA, CEO of metaShape. “We are excited about the developments underway around MS 001 and look forward to sharing more as the program continues to advance.”
“From Helix’s perspective, the decision to extend this agreement is grounded in the quality of the emerging preclinical data around MS 001, particularly its effects on NAD⁺ biology and the reprogramming of fat metabolism,” said Thomas Mehrling, MD, PhD, CEO of Helix BioPharma. “We are excited by the potential of this compound to benefit patients across distinct disease settings, with dosing and development approaches designed to reflect the unique needs of each indication. This program also reinforces the breadth of Helix’s science and its ability to generate value beyond oncology.”
About MetaShape Pharma
MetaShape Pharma is a privately owned biopharmaceutical company founded in 2023 on a bold premise: metabolic dysfunction is a solvable problem, if we treat it at its root. The Company is developing first-in-class metabolic therapies designed to overcome the limitations of today’s GLP-1-based treatments. Its lead program, MS 001 (ulodesine hemiglutarate), is a preclinical-stage, oral small-molecule co-therapy designed to reprogram fat metabolism to enhance fat-selective weight loss, preserve muscle mass, and reduce weight regain, supporting more durable outcomes in obesity and cardiometabolic disease. Learn more at www.metashapepharma.com.
About Helix BioPharma
Helix BioPharma is an oncology company that innovates from strength to bring near-term solutions for today’s hardest-to-treat cancers. The Company’s pipeline is led by Tumor Defense Breaker™ L-DOS47, a clinical-stage antibody-enzyme conjugate designed to prime CEACAM6-expressing tumors for increased sensitivity to therapy and augment the effectiveness of today’s front-running anti-cancer treatments. L-DOS47 has completed Phase Ib studies in non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) and shares its CEACAM6-targeting foundation with Helix’s next-generation bi-specific antibody-drug conjugates (ADCs), currently in discovery. The Company also advances two pre-IND candidates: (i) LEUMUNA™, an oral immune checkpoint modulator aimed at achieving durable remission in post-transplant leukemia relapse, and (ii) GEMCEDA™, a first-in-class oral gemcitabine prodrug with bioavailability on a par with IV, designed to expand treatment options for advanced cancers.
Helix is listed on TSX (HBP), OTC PINK (HBPCD), and FWB (HBP0). For more information, please visit: https://www.helixbiopharma.com/
For more information, please contact:
Helix BioPharma Corp.
Bay Adelaide Centre - North Tower
40 Temperance Street, Suite 2700
Toronto, ON M5H 0B4
Tel: +1 857 208 7687
Jacek Antas, Director
Forward-Looking Statements and Risks and Uncertainties
This news release contains forward-looking statements and information (collectively, “forward-looking statements”) within the meaning of applicable Canadian securities laws. Forward-looking statements are statements and information that are not historical facts but instead include financial projections and estimates, statements regarding plans, goals, objectives, intentions and expectations with respect to the Company’s future business, operations, research and development, including the Company’s activities relating to DOS47, LEUMUNA™ and GEMCEDA™. Forward-looking statements can further be identified by the use of forward-looking terminology such as “ongoing”, “estimates”, “expects”, or the negative thereof or any other variations thereon or comparable terminology referring to future events or results, or that events or conditions “will”, “may”, “could”, or “should” occur or be achieved, or comparable terminology referring to future events or results.
Forward-looking statements are necessarily based on a number of estimates and assumptions that the Company considered appropriate and reasonable as of the date such information is given, including but not limited to the assumptions regarding the implied benefits of the transactions. Forward-looking statements are subject to known and unknown risks, uncertainties, and other factors, many of which are beyond the Company’s control, that may cause actual results, performance or achievements to be materially different from those expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements, including but not limited to the risk that the Company's assumptions on which its forward-looking statements are based may not be accurate; the ability of the Company to capitalize on the potential benefits of the transactions; and the risk factors disclosed in the Company's periodic reports publicly filed and available on its SEDAR+ profile at www.sedarplus.ca. No assurance can be given that any of the events anticipated by the forward-looking statements will transpire or occur. There is no assurance that the proposed transactions will be completed in accordance with its terms or at all. The forward-looking statements contained in this news release are made as of the date of this announcement and the Company does not assume any obligation to update any forward-looking statement or information should those beliefs, assumptions, opinions or expectations, or other circumstances change, except as required by law.
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