GeneNews Provides Financing Update

TORONTO, July 26, 2016 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Further to its press releases issued on December 7, 2015 and June 9, 2016, GeneNews Limited (“GeneNews” or the “Company”) (TSX:GEN) provided an update today on its financing activities.

Pursuant to its capital commitment agreement (the “Agreement”) with GEM Global Yield Fund LLC SCS (“GEM”), GeneNews has made its first draw down under the Capital Commitment (“CC”) in the amount of CAD $51,803.   In connection with the draw down, 338,702 common shares were issued to GEM at a price per share of CAD $0.153, which is equal to a 10 per cent discount to the market price of the common shares based on the immediately preceding 5-day volume weighted average.  As part of the transaction, GeneNews also issued 338,702 warrants to GEM. The warrants have an exercise price of CAD $0.50 per common share and may be exercised for five years. On the first anniversary of the date of the Agreement, if the market price of GeneNews’ common shares is less than 90% of the then-current exercise price of the warrants, the exercise price of the warrants will adjust to 105% of the market price of the common shares at that time.

GeneNews also announced that to maintain adequate financial flexibility as it awaited completion of the aforementioned GEM CC draw down, it recently entered into a modified interim working capital loan (the " Modified Loan") agreement with a major shareholder, who is also a director of the Company, pursuant to which the Company borrowed an additional USD $150,000.  This brought GeneNews’ total borrowings under the loan to USD $550,000. The Modified Loan has been secured against the intellectual property of the Company, bears interest of two percent (2%), with a term of four months and is repayable on demand.

“Having various financing options available to us as we continue to build out our new business acceleration strategy in partnership with JTS Health Partners is critical," commented GeneNews’ Executive Chairman, James R. Howard-Tripp.  “Our early cancer diagnostic platform is proving to be of great interest to large healthcare providers and we look forward to initiating our first partnership.”

About GeneNews

GeneNews is focused on developing and commercializing proprietary molecular diagnostic tests for the early detection of diseases and personalized health management, with a primary focus on cancer-related indications. The Company's lead product, ColonSentry®, is the world's first blood test to assess an individual's current risk for colorectal cancer. GeneNews' common shares trade on the Toronto Stock Exchange under the symbol 'GEN'. More information on GeneNews can be found at www.GeneNews.com.

About IDL

Richmond, Virgina-based IDL is a national clinical reference lab specializing in personalized blood-based testing to help find, understand, and address cancer risk in patient populations. IDL’s mission is to provide a comprehensive menu of traditional and advanced clinical evidence-based blood tests that aid in early cancer detection. Currently IDL offers risk assessment blood tests for the three most prevalent cancer types including lung, colon and prostate.  IDL is actively in-licensing and commercializing an array of DNA, RNA, protein and autoantibody blood-based cancer diagnostic tests to address early detection of all major types of cancer.

Forward-Looking Statements

This press release contains forward-looking statements identified by words such as "expects", "will" and similar expressions, which reflect the Company's current expectations regarding future events, including the restructuring of its business. These forward-looking statements involve risks and uncertainties and material assumptions - including those related to general business and economic conditions as well as our ability to complete an orderly restructuring of the Company's operations which may include a sale, merger, strategic financing or other business combination - that could cause the Company's actual events to differ materially from those projected herein. Investors should consult the Company's ongoing quarterly filings and annual reports for additional information on risks and uncertainties relating to these forward-looking statements. The reader is cautioned not to rely on these forward-looking statements. The Company disclaims any obligation to update these forward-looking statements, except as required by law.

Company Contact:
James R. Howard-Tripp 
Executive Chairman 
Office: (905) 209-2030 
jhoward-tripp@genenews.com

Investor & Media Contact:
Stephen Kilmer
Kilmer Lucas Inc.
Office: (647) 872-4849
stephen@kilmerlucas.com