CEO.CA Chairman's Briefing

Montreal, Quebec--(Newsfile Corp. - August 4, 2026) -  Defence Therapeutics Inc. (CSE: DTC) (OTCQB: DTCFF) (FSE: DTC) ("Defence" or the "Company"), a publicly traded biotechnology company developing next-generation precision oncology therapeutics using its proprietary Accum^® technology, is pleased to announce the appointment of Dr. Amie Phinney, PhD, MBA, as the President and Chief Executive Officer, effective August 1, 2026.

As part of the leadership transition, Mr. Sébastien Plouffe, Founder and Chief Executive Officer, will now assume the position of Executive Chairman of the Board, where he will continue to play a critical leadership role in guiding the Company's strategic direction, financing initiatives, corporate partnerships, and long-term growth.

Since joining Defence in 2025, Dr. Phinney has played a key role in supporting Defence's strategic evolution, strengthening its scientific and commercial positioning, and advancing the Accum^® technology into the next-generation intracellular drug delivery platform. She joined Defence as Strategy & Business Advisor in July 2025 and was appointed to the Board of Directors in September 2025.

"Over the past year, Amie has demonstrated exceptional leadership, strategic vision, and an unwavering commitment to Defence's mission," said Sébastien Plouffe, Executive Chairman of Defence Therapeutics. "She has played an instrumental role in refining our corporate strategy, expanding our scientific and commercial vision, building the foundation for new strategic partnerships, and positioning Defence for its next phase of growth. The Board is confident that she is the right leader to guide the Company as we accelerate the development of the Accum^® platform, expand our therapeutic pipeline, and pursue strategic partnerships."

Dr. Phinney mentioned "I am honoured to be taking on the leadership of Defence Therapeutics at this exciting period of growth for the Company. Defence has built a differentiated technology platform with the potential to transform the delivery of complex biologics and targeted therapeutics. I look forward to working alongside our outstanding scientific team, Board of Directors, partners, and shareholders to accelerate the development of our pipeline, expand the applications of the Accum^® platform, and position Defence as a global leader in precision intracellular drug delivery."

Dr. Phinney brings more than two decades of international leadership experience spanning pharmaceutical research and development, biotechnology company creation, corporate strategy, business development, and commercialization. She previously held a range of scientific and strategic roles at Abbott and AbbVie (Chicago, USA), supporting strategic planning, alliance management, and business operations across multiple global R&D organizations. She subsequently served as Chief Scientific Officer of Lakeside Discovery, a venture-backed biotechnology company spun-out from Northwestern University in Chicago, advancing academic innovations into therapeutic programs. Most recently, she was the Senior Director of Partnerships and Business Development at adMare BioInnovations, where she helped launch and grow biotechnology companies emerging from Canadian research institutions. She is also the co-founder of Block Biosciences and served as its inaugural Chief Executive Officer, leading the academic biotechnology spinout in the development of first-in-class oncology therapeutics. Dr. Phinney holds a PhD in Biomedical Research from the University of Basel (Switzerland) and an MBA from Lake Forest Graduate School of Management (Chicago, USA). She has also completed executive education in corporate governance (Rotman School of Management, University of Toronto), private capital investment (Ivey Academy, Western University), high-performance negotiation (Kellogg School of Management, Northwestern University), and business leadership (Kenan-Flagler Business School, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill).

As Executive Chairman, Mr. Plouffe will continue to work closely with Dr. Phinney and the Board, focusing on corporate strategy, capital markets, business development, strategic partnerships, and governance, while supporting the Company's long-term growth objectives.

"This transition reflects the natural evolution of Defence Therapeutics," added Mr. Plouffe. "I remain deeply committed to the Company and look forward to supporting Amie and the management team as we execute on the tremendous opportunities ahead."

Under Dr. Phinney's leadership, Defence Therapeutics will continue executing its strategy to expand the clinical and commercial potential of its proprietary Accum^® platform across antibody-drug conjugates (ADCs), radiotherapeutics, and other targeted biologics, while advancing strategic collaborations with biotechnology and pharmaceutical partners.

The Company wishes to announce that it has granted a total of 600,000 incentive stock options, in accordance with the terms and conditions of Defence's omnibus incentive plan, including (i) 200,000 options to Dr. Phinney, of which 100,000 are vested immediately and 100,000 will be vested on the 1^st anniversary of the date of grant, exercisable at a price of 40 cents per share for a period of five years from the date of grant, (ii) 200,000 options to an employee at the same terms; and (iii) 200,000 to the Executive Chairman vested immediately and exercisable at a price of 40 cents per share for a period of ten years from the date of grant.

About Defence Therapeutics:

Defence Therapeutics is a publicly traded biotechnology company committed to making cancer treatment more effective and safer. Using its Accum^® precision drug delivery platform, Defence is working to enhance the potency of ADCs and other complex biologics at lower doses, with the goal of reducing side effects and improving access to advanced therapies. By pursing cutting edge science, and collaborating with pharma and biotech partners, Defence strives to bring transformative therapies to patients who need them most. To learn more about Defence Therapeutics and explore partnering opportunities, please visit www.defencetherapeutics.com or contact info@defencetherapeutics.com.

Cautionary Statement Regarding "Forward-Looking" Information

This release includes certain statements that may be deemed "forward-looking statements". All statements in this release, other than statements of historical facts, that address events or developments that the Company expects to occur, are forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements are statements that are not historical facts and are generally, but not always, identified by the words "expects", "plans", "anticipates", "believes", "intends", "estimates", "projects", "potential" and similar expressions, or that events or conditions "will", "would", "may", "could" or "should" occur. Although the Company believes the expectations expressed in such forward-looking statements are based on reasonable assumptions, such statements are not guarantees of future performance and actual results may differ materially from those in the forward-looking statements. Factors that could cause the actual results to differ materially from those in forward-looking statements include regulatory actions, market prices, and continued availability of capital and financing, and general economic, market or business conditions. Investors are cautioned that any such statements are not guarantees of future performance and actual results or developments may differ materially from those projected in the forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements are based on the beliefs, estimates and opinions of the Company's management on the date the statements are made. Except as required by applicable securities laws, the Company undertakes no obligation to update these forward-looking statements in the event that management's beliefs, estimates or opinions, or other factors, should change.

Neither the CSE nor its market regulator, as that term is defined in the policies of the CSE, accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.

To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/307697