Helix BioPharma Corp. Appoints Dr. Thomas Mehrling as Chief Executive Officer to Drive Ambitious Clinical Development Plan

Toronto, Ontario, Canada | The Newswire | 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 appointment of Thomas Mehrling, MD, PhD as Chief Executive Officer (“CEO”) of the Company. A sharpening of Helix’s leadership structure, outgoing CEO, Jacek Antas, will dedicate his focus to his role as Chairman of the Company, and Dr. Mehrling, who has shaped Helix’s clinical strategy in his capacity as Chief Medical Officer (“CMO”), takes the helm to deliver on the Company’s ambitious clinical milestones planned for 2025 and beyond.

A distinguished Hemato-Oncologist and Pharmacologist with over 20 years of experience in pharmaceutical oncology, Dr. Mehrling has a proven track record of building successful, global oncology businesses and delivering transformative therapies to the market. As a key architect of Mundipharma International Ltd.’s European oncology business, Dr. Mehrling served as Head of Business Development (2000–2004), European Director of Oncology (2004-2011), and International Director of Oncology Strategy (2011-2013), introducing groundbreaking cancer drugs across Europe that achieved sales nearing USD 1 billion (DepoCyte® and Levact®, Ribomustin® and Treanda®). In 2013, he led the establishment and took the helm of Mundipharma EDO GmbH, a Swiss-based start-up within the Mundipharma Group dedicated to the development of highly selective inhibitors and targeted medicines for hematological malignancies and solid tumors. In 2019, he founded Laevoroc Medical AG, a privately held, Swiss oncology company, whose asset acquisition by Helix laid the foundations for a broader strategic collaboration between Dr. Mehrling and the Company. Prior to his tenure at Mundipharma, Dr. Mehrling served as Senior Vice President of global CRO Medical Affairs at Staticon International, and as Medical Leader at Takeda European R&D Center. Before his transition to the pharmaceutical industry, Dr. Mehrling spent 13 years as an MD at the University Hospital in Frankfurt, where he earned his MD degree from the Department of Internal Medicine (Hemato-oncology and Cardiology) and his PhD in Pharmacology.

Dr. Mehrling, CEO of Helix, said “It’s something I’ve said before, and it’s worth repeating: Helix’s commitment to confronting cancer’s most urgent challenges, with smart innovation and rapid decision-making, is a cause I am deeply aligned with—and one I am honored to now lead as CEO. We plan to enter L-DOS47 with pembrolizumab into a Phase II study this year for the treatment of non-small cell lung cancer, with other clinical milestones to follow in 2026. We are currently preparing to close a financing deal that will enable us to launch the execution of this plan and to add top minds to our growing world-class team. It’s ambitious, and we are determined to deliver—patients have waited long enough.”

Chairman Jacek Antas added, “As Helix moves into its next phase of growth, we are laser-focused on building a resilient and agile internal organization to deliver on our ambitious roadmap. Thomas’ leadership and experience are exactly what the Company needs at this important juncture, and I look forward to working closely with him and the rest of our team to achieve our shared goals.”

About Helix BioPharma Corp.
Helix BioPharma is an oncology company shaping a near future where today’s hard-to-treat cancers are made vincible by novel therapies that rise to the challenge. The Company innovates from strength to tackle cancer’s biggest, most urgent challenges with a diverse pipeline of drug candidates with great potential and a head start, honed into first- and best-in-class oncology medicines. Its pipeline is spearheaded by a clinical-stage proprietary technology platform of bio-conjugates that score with precision against prevalent CEACAM6-expressing solid tumors. Its lead candidate, Tumour Defence Breaker™ L-DOS47, is a clinical-stage antibody-enzyme conjugate (AEC) that neutralizes the microenvironment of common, hard-to-treat solid tumors, taking the brakes off anti-cancer immunity and delivering a game-changing assist to today’s front-running anti-cancer therapies. L-DOS47 has completed Phase Ib studies in non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC), with novel strategically designed bi-specific ADCs targeting CEACAM6 in discovery.

Helix is listed on the TSX under the symbol “HBP”, on OTC PINK under the symbol “HBPCD” and on FWB under the symbol “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 2
Toronto, ON M5H 0B4
Tel: +1 857 208 7687
Jacek Antas, Director
corporate@helixbiopharma.com

Forward-Looking Statements and Risks and Uncertainties
This news release contains certain statements regarding Helix BioPharma Corp. that constitute forward-looking statements and information (collectively, “forward looking statements”) as defined by Canadian securities laws. Forward-looking statements are statements and information that are not historical facts but instead include 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 its CEACAM6 platform, L-DOS47 and new asset transactions that Helix intends to close. Forward-looking statements can further be identified by the use of forward-looking terminology such as “will”, “plans”, “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 statements about the future and are inherently uncertain and are necessarily based upon a number of estimates and assumptions that are also uncertain. Although the Company believes that the expectations reflected in such forward- looking statements are reasonable, such statements involve risks and uncertainties, and undue reliance should not be placed on such statements. Forward-looking statements are intended to provide information about management’s current plans and expectations regarding future operations and may not be appropriate for other purposes. Certain material factors, estimates or assumptions have been applied in making forward-looking statements in this news release. The Company’s actual results could differ materially from those anticipated in the forward-looking statements contained in this news release as a result of numerous known and unknown risks and uncertainties, including the risk factors discussed in the Company’s continuous disclosure record filed under the Company’s profile on SEDAR+ at www.sedarplus.ca from time to time. Forward-looking statements and information are based on the beliefs, assumptions, opinions and expectations of Helix’s management on the date of this new release, 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.
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Jacek Antas

Chief Executive Officer

Jacek Antas is a shareholder of the Company, has spent more than 25 years in the financial services industry holding various positions in sales and consulting.

Mr. Antas obtained a master’s degree from the Warsaw School of Economics and has served as a board member of various
companies throughout his career.

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James B. Murphy

Chief Financial Officer

Mr. Murphy is a certified public accountant with over thirty years of experience in finance and operations management. He is currently a consultant with Danforth Advisors LLC (“Danforth”), a leading provider of outsourced strategic and operational specialists across functions in the life sciences industry. While at Danforth, Mr. Murphy has served over fifteen private and publicly held life sciences companies as CFO and CFO Advisor, helping them secure over USD 0.5 billion in financing and successfully execute pivotal asset transactions. Mr. Murphy functions as a consultant to Helix pursuant to a consulting agreement between the Company and Danforth.

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Thomas Mehrling

Medical Adviser

Thomas Mehrling (PhD in Pharmacology and MD) has over 20 years’ experience in multinational Pharma companies developing novel oncology compounds from preclinical research through to registration. Prior to entering the industry, he spent 13 years as an MD at the University Hospital in Frankfurt, working on preclinical and translational projects. He served as Director of European Oncology at Mundipharma International (2003–2013), building the company’s first European oncology business from the ground up out of Cambridge, UK, and completing the clinical development, registration and launch of two major products in Europe, DepoCyte® and Levact® (Ribomustin® and Treanda®). In 2013, he led the establishment of the Mundipharma Group’s start-up, Mundipharma EDO, developing anti-cancer therapeutics for solid tumours out of Basel, Switzerland.

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Christof Boehler

Chief Business Development Officer

Dr. Christof Boehler is a commercially oriented scientist with a proven track record in building and leading teams that successfully commercialize products and services in the life science industry. His core competencies are in technology transfer, business development and corporate governance with a focus on technology scouting, preclinical and clinical R&D, licensing, sales, capital raising and M&A.

Mr. Boehler is also a strategic advisor to Takeda.

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Kim Gaspar

Director Quality Assurance

Kim is the Director of Quality Assurance at Helix BioPharma Corp. An experienced quality assurance professional with expertise in Canadian, US, and EU regulations, she has been involved in all aspects of Phase I/II biopharmaceutical product development over the years, including regulatory submissions, QC laboratory compliance, tech transfer and third-party oversight of CMC activities, clinical QA, and bioanalytical data analysis. Kim joined Helix in 2000, transitioning into QA in 2003. She holds a B.Sc in Biochemistry and a Ph.D in Veterinary Physiological Sciences, both from the University of Saskatchewan.

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Brenda Lee

Director Clinical Operations

Brenda is the Clinical Operations Director at Helix Biopharma Corp. A clinical research operations professional with 25 years of experience managing clinical trials, ranging from early Phase I to late Phase IIIb/IV studies, she brings experience in clinical study protocol writing and development, trial start-up and vendor management, and a proven track record in planning and managing clinical trials to quality standards, timelines and budget. Brenda joined Helix Biopharma Corp. in 2018, working to advance the clinical program of L-DOS47. She holds B.Sc and M.Sc. degrees from the University of Toronto, specializing in Nutritional Sciences and Human Biology.

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Praveen Kumar

V.P. Drug Development

Praveen has experience working in the pharmaceutical industry for more than 25 years and has expertise in the development of drug products for small and macro-molecules using various dosage forms. He was involved in projects comprising the formulation development of generic drug products and their production and developed a novel transdermal drug product containing a protein-based drug (interferon alpha 2b) for the treatment of HPV infections.

Presently as a V.P. he manages the CMC-related activities (drug product formulation, technology transfer, quality, stability testing and interaction with regulatory agency) for the development of L-DOS47 drug product, an antibody drug conjugate, for the treatment of various cancers. He has a Ph.D. in Pharmaceutical sciences and he completed his post-doctoral fellowship in gene regulation. He was the author of multiple peer-reviewed published articles, a book chapter, and patents.

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Jerzy Leszczynski

Director

Jerzy Leszczynski is a shareholder of the Company, has spent more than 35 years developing businesses and has served in the capacity of board member of various real estate development companies. Mr. Leszczynski obtained his Master of Science in Chemistry from the Warsaw Institute of Technology.

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Janusz Grabski

Director, Chair of Audit Committee

Janusz (John) Grabski is a lawyer specialized in corporate and real estate law with over twenty years of experience.

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Malgorzata Laube

Director

Malgorzata Laube has over 19 years of experience in nuclear medicine. In her last role with Alberta Health Services, she was the Department Supervisor, Nuclear Medicine at Royal Alexandra Hospital. Ms. Laube obtained a MSc degree in Environmental Engineering from the Warsaw University of Technology and is based in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada.

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Jacek Antas

Chairman of the Board

Jacek Antas is a shareholder of the Company, has spent more than 25 years in the financial services industry holding various positions in sales and consulting.

Mr. Antas obtained a master’s degree from the Warsaw School of Economics and has served as a board member of various
companies throughout his career.

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Jonathan Davis

Advisor, ADC Discovery

Jonathan Davis received his Ph.D. from University of California, San Francisco, where he studied protein structure and function using NMR. After a post-doc at Harvard Medical School exploring RNA selection and structure in the labs of Jack Szostak and Gerhard Wagner, he went to work at EMD Serono, where his work involved improving antibody-based therapeutics, inventing a platform technology for generating heterodimeric Fcs as a basis for multifunctional molecules, and developing a novel scaffold based on an artificially-designed protein from David Baker’s lab. In 2008 he took a job at Bristol-Myers Squibb in Waltham/Cambridge MA, working on antibody discovery and platform development in a wide range of therapeutic areas, with a particular focus on multispecific therapeutics. He moved to Madison, WI in 2019 to take on the role of VP of Innovation and Strategy at Invenra, a biotech focused on bispecific antibodies, and where he is currently head of the Scientific Advisory Board. In early 2024 he left the corporate world to found Creative Antibodies, a consulting firm that helps guide companies to successful antibody discovery and development projects, from mAbs to multispecifics, ADCs, and other formats. Outside of science, Jonathan is a conservatory trained cellist, plays numerous other instruments, and founded the UCSF Orchestra (now Symphony Parnassus) in San Francisco, where he was Music Director for six years.

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Davide Guggi

Advisor, CMC

Davide graduated as a pharmacist and received his PhD in Pharmaceutical Technology and Biotechnology from the University of Vienna. He has over 20 years of experience in the pharmaceutical industry, principally in the field of oncology. At the beginning of his career, Davide led oncology business units and commercial departments at Mundipharma and Gilead across Austria and Eastern Europe. Since over 10 years he has been working as a CMC expert, covering operational and regulatory CMC functions on behalf of over 20 different small- and medium-sized biotech companies across the world. He has served as CMC Director and CSO/CTO for several years, developing both small molecules and biologics (mABs, Fab, ADCs and Radio-immuno-conjugates) from early discovery to NDA/BLA in the US, EU and Canada, with a focus on First-in-Human and Phase I/II studies in oncology indications.

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