OTTAWA, Ontario--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- Avivagen Inc.. (TSXV:VIV, OTCQB:VIVXF) (“Avivagen” or the “Company”) today reported its audited financial results for the fiscal year ended October 31, 2020. Unless otherwise noted, all figures are in Canadian currency.

“By all measures, Avivagen achieved considerable regulatory, customer, corporate and financial success in 2020,” said Kym Anthony, President and Chief Executive Officer, Avivagen Inc. “We’ve secured record breaking orders for OxC-beta from customers in established markets and received regulatory approval in key markets in Asia and South America. The successes achieved this year position Avivagen very strongly for continued growth worldwide, as we grow recurring order sizes and add new customers and partners in important feed production markets around the globe.”

Highlights from Avivagen’s fiscal 2020 include:

Regulatory Milestones

• Secured approval for OxC-beta™ Livestock in Malaysia on December 5, 2019. Malaysia had an estimated total annual feed production of 4.8 million metric tonnes in 2019.
• Signed agreement with COFCO Biotech on December 19, 2019 to support approval process efforts in China. COFCO is a leading supplier of agri-products to the Chinese market, with more than $17.5 billion in annual sales in 2018.
• Secured approval in Brazil on June 24, 2020. Brazil is the world’s third largest feed production market, and a key exporter to regions such as Europe and China that have implemented bans against the use of antibiotics in livestock feed.

Customer Milestones

• Secured first order in Malaysia on December 12, 2019, only a week after receiving regulatory approval in the country.
• Secured first order in Mexico, by Industrias Melder, on March 25, 2020.
• Secured new sales of OxC-beta™ Livestock in Taiwan and Thailand on April 2, 2020. Avivagen followed those sales with the Company’s largest sales order to date - a three tonne order by UNAHCO in the Philippines - less than a week later.
• Mexico-based customer, Industrias Melder placed orders totaling two tonnes by May 20, 2020, following the positive results of two tests conducted by a key dairy farm client.
• Secured first order for 125kg from Look Chemicals, Avivagen’s distribution partner in Brazil, on August 12, 2020.
• Finalized record ten tonne order of OxC-beta from Industrias Melder on September 28, 2020, commencing early 2021, as well as new orders from Tesistan and Prolea in Mexico on October 6, 2020. Avivagen also joined Mexico-based industry associations, ANFACA and AMEPA at the same time, further connecting with the feed production communities across key regions in Mexico.
• Secured record four tonne order from UNAHCO on October 13, 2020, marking the largest order to date from the Philippines. As a result of a typhoon which occurred in the region following the order, two tonnes of the order were shipped during Fiscal 2020, with the other two tonnes shipped in November 2020.
• Received repeat and growing orders from Fwusow, one of Taiwan’s leading feed producers and integrators, for the use of OxC-beta in their pet food.
• Completed the first sale of OxC-beta for use in layer hens, resulting in increased egg production and accolades from the producer.
• Completed preparations for the launch of a human dietary health supplement in the US. The dietary supplement is set to launch via e-commerce within the next few weeks.

Financial and Corporate Milestones

• Secured private placements of $1.25mm and $1.75mm on January 3 and January 27, 2020 respectively.
• Listed on the OTCQB^® Venture Market on January 8, 2020, helping to expand Avivagen’s investor presence in the United States.
• Launched Dr. Tobias Dog Chews with Mimi’s Rock Corp. on Amazon.com and DrTobias.com on January 23, 2020.
• Received positive results from New Zealand livestock dairy trail for sub-clinical mastitis on February 24, 2020, which extends the further use cases of OxC-beta™ Livestock.
• Published a scientific paper “The effects of maternal supplementation with fully oxidised β-carotene on the reproductive performance and immune response of sows, as well as the growth performance of nursing piglets” in the British Journal of Nutrition on August 18, 2020.

Fiscal 2020 Financial Results
The Company’s Audited Financial Statements for the year ended October 31, 2020 and the accompanying Management’s Discussion and Analysis have been filed on the System for Electronic Document Analysis and Retrieval and are available via its website (www.sedar.com). The financial information for the year ended October 31, 2020 should be read in conjunction with the Company’s Audited Financial Statements as well as its Management’s Discussion and Analysis for the year ended October 31, 2020.

The Company reported revenues of $1,177,857 ($977,451 in the year ending October 31, 2019) and a comprehensive loss of $(4,751,287) for the year ended October 31, 2020. This compares to a comprehensive loss in the year ending October 31, 2019 of $(4,836,420). As at October 31, 2020, the Company reported total assets of $2,176,142 (current assets of $1,781,800), total liabilities of $6,943,752, and shareholders’ deficit of ($4,767,610).

Significant financing inflows in the fiscal year totalled $3,750,000. This consisted of a private placement equity financing of $3,000,000 and a debt financing of $750,000 all raised within the confines of a volatile and challenging market.

About Avivagen
Avivagen is a life sciences corporation focused on developing and commercializing products for livestock, companion animal and human applications. By unlocking an overlooked facet of β-carotene activity, a path has been opened to safely and economically support immune function, thereby promoting general health and performance in animals. Avivagen is a public corporation traded on the TSX Venture Exchange under the symbol VIV and on the OTCQB Exchange in the U.S. under the symbol VIVXF, and is headquartered in Ottawa, Canada, based in partnership facilities of the National Research Council of Canada and Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island. For more information, visit www.avivagen.com. The contents of the website are expressly not incorporated by reference in this press release.

About OxC-beta™ Technology and OxC-beta™ Livestock
Avivagen’s OxC-beta™ technology is derived from Avivagen discoveries about β-carotene and other carotenoids, compounds that give certain fruits and vegetables their bright colours. Through support of immune function the technology provides a non-antibiotic means of promoting health and growth. OxC-beta™ Livestock is a proprietary product shown to be an effective and economic alternative to the antibiotics commonly added to livestock feeds. The product is currently available for sale in the United States, Philippines, Taiwan, New Zealand, Thailand, Mexico, Brazil, Australia and Malaysia.

Avivagen’s OxC-beta™ Livestock product is safe, effective and could fulfill the global mandate to remove all in-feed antibiotics as growth promoters. Numerous international livestock trials with poultry and swine using OxC-beta™ Livestock have proven that the product performs as well as, and, sometimes, in some aspects, better than in-feed antibiotics.

Forward Looking Statements
This news release includes certain forward-looking statements that are based upon the current expectations of management. Forward-looking statements involve risks and uncertainties associated with the business of Avivagen Inc. and the environment in which the business operates. Any statements contained herein that are not statements of historical facts may be deemed to be forward-looking, including those identified by the expressions “aim”, “anticipate”, “appear”, “believe”, “consider”, “could”, “estimate”, “expect”, “if”, “intend”, “goal”, “hope”, “likely”, “may”, “plan”, “possibly”, “potentially”, “pursue”, “seem”, “should”, “whether”, “will”, “would” and similar expressions. Statements set out in this news release relating to the continued distribution and acceptance of Avivagen’s technology, anticipated growth in demand for Avivagen’s products, the expectation that Avivagen’s global footprint, strong partnerships and rapidly expanding customer list positions it strongly for the future, the expectation that the nutraceuticals business will launch in the next few weeks, the possibility for OxC-beta™ Livestock to replace antibiotics in livestock feeds as well as fill a critical need for health support in certain livestock applications where antibiotics are precluded and the size of market opportunities are all forward-looking statements. These forward-looking statements are subject to a number of risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results or events to differ materially from current expectations. For instance, these initial orders may not result in new orders for Avivagen’s products, demand for Avivagen’s products may not continue to grow and could decline, Avivagen’s products may not gain market acceptance or regulatory approval in new jurisdictions or for new applications and may not be widely accepted as a replacement for antibiotics in livestock feeds, new market access and the market launch and acceptance of the nutraceuticals business may not occur in the timeline or manner expected by Avivagen and the market opportunities may not be as large as Avivagen anticipates, all due to many factors, many of which are outside of Avivagen’s control. Trial results described above may not be indicative of anticipated results of using Avivagen’s products in all cases. Readers are referred to the risk factors associated with the business of Avivagen set out in Avivagen’s most recent management’s discussion and analysis of financial condition available at www.SEDAR.com. Except as required by law, Avivagen assumes no obligation to update the forward-looking statements, or to update the reasons why actual results could differ from those reflected in the forward-looking statements.

Neither TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.

Copyright © 2020 Avivagen Inc. OxC-beta™ is a trademark of Avivagen Inc.

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