Aeterna Zentaris Announces Exclusive License Agreement and Research Contract with Julius-Maximilians-University Wuerzburg for Development of a Potential Oral Prophylactic Bacterial Vaccine Against COVID-19 - Company secu

Zentaris Announces Exclusive License Agreement and Research Contract with Julius-Maximilians-University Wuerzburg

for Development of a Potential Oral Prophylactic Bacterial Vaccine Against COVID-19

Company secures next step to continue to build-out pipeline of assets

Company exercised its option to enter into an exclusive license of intellectual property for the development of a proprietary

and orally active bacterial vaccine platform technology currently undergoing pre-clinical studies for the prevention of coronavirus

diseases, including COVID-19

S.C., March 15, 2021 - Aeterna Zentaris Inc. (NASDAQ: AEZS) (TSX: AEZS), through its wholly-owned

subsidiary Aeterna Zentaris GmbH, ("Aeterna" or the "Company"), a specialty biopharmaceutical company

commercializing and developing therapeutics and diagnostic tests, today announced that the Company exercised its option announced

on February 2, 2021 and has entered into an exclusive worldwide sub-licensable patent and know-how license agreement for a potential

COVID-19 vaccine currently in preclinical development that was invented at the Julius-Maximilians-University Wuerzburg (the "University"),

one of Germany's leading research and teaching universities. Additionally, the Company has entered into a research agreement

with the University to conduct supplementary research activities and preclinical development studies on the potential vaccine.

vaccine technology developed at the University uses the approved typhoid fever vaccine Salmonella Typhi Ty21a as a carrier

strain and has the potential to be an orally active, live-attenuated bacterial vaccine to prevent SARS-CoV-2 infection leading

the last months, we learned that the original SARS-CoV-2 strain mutates rapidly, and these mutant strains continue to spread throughout

the population. It has been reported that the currently available vaccines for COVID-19 are still effective against the known

mutant strains. However, we believe there is the potential to develop an improved vaccine which relies on several SARS-CoV-2 antigens

in parallel with the goal of improving the immune response against mutated viruses. Additionally, our vaccine has the potential

to become a cost-effective oral alternative with less demanding storage and logistics requirements", commented Dr. Klaus

Paulini, Chief Executive Officer of Aeterna Zentaris. "We look forward to advancing our scientific collaboration with

Prof. Rudel and his group at the University. Aeterna plans to select from a set of vaccine candidates to perform further in

vitro and in vivo characterization before selecting the most active and stable bacterial strain for further preclinical

and potentially clinical development. The goal is to develop an oral dosage form of COVID-19 vaccine which is also active against

mutated viruses that can be stored in a common fridge and manufactured with relatively low costs of goods.

Thomas Rudel of the University added, "We are looking forward to our collaboration with Aeterna and a new phase of accelerated

preclinical and potential clinical development. Our oral vaccine candidates based on the Salmonella Typhi Ty21a vaccine

platform technology open the possibility to integrate more than one SARS-CoV-2 related antigen into the expression system of the

modified vaccine bacteria and may improve the immune response of an individual against mutated viruses."

the Potential COVID-19 Vaccine

approved Salmonella Typhi Ty21a bacterial strain is the basis of the new vaccine approach against corona virus infections.

The typhoid fever vaccine Ty21a is effective, safe, easy to handle, and the capsule formulation can be stored at fridge temperature

of 2 C to 8 C. The most common vaccine capsule Vivotif has been used worldwide in more than 150 million

carrier strain has been modified by plasmid insertion with two expression cassettes together with a special E. coli-based

secretion system to secrete two or more coronavirus antigens fused to an immunological adjuvant peptide. Additionally, a balanced

lethal system based on an essential tRNA synthetase has been integrated to stabilize the plasmid in the absence of antibiotic

resistance genes. The specific bacterial vector strain is expected to enable oral application and release of the proteins into

the gut system which may consequently stimulate mucosal and systemic immunity.

Terms and Conditions

March 14, 2021, the Company exercised the Option and entered into the License Agreement. Pursuant to the terms of the License

Agreement, the Company has been granted an exclusive, world-wide, license to certain patents and know-how owned by the University

to research and develop, manufacture, and sell a potential COVID-19 vaccine using the University's bacterial vaccine platform

technology (the "Licensed Rights"). The Company will pay an up-front payment under the License Agreement of 140,000

as well as make certain milestones payments to be paid upon the achievement of certain development, and regulatory and sales milestones

as well as a percentage of any sub-licensing revenue received by the Company and royalty payments on net sales of the licensed

vaccine products (including for by the Company or its sub-licensees). The License Agreement will expire upon the latter of (i)

the existence of a valid patent claim of a Licensed Right or (ii) 10 years after the first commercial sale of a product that was

developed, manufactured, marketed, and sold using a least one Licensed Right. The License Agreement may be terminated by the Company

by providing six (6) months' notice to the University.

to the License Agreement, the University has also granted the Company an exclusive option for the exclusive use of the Licensed

Rights in an undisclosed field. The Company has six (6) months from the date of the License Agreement to exercise that is option.

the Company has entered into the Research Agreement under which the Company has engaged the University on a fee-for-service basis

to conduct supplementary research activities and preclinical development studies on the potential vaccine.

is the disease caused by a new coronavirus called SARS-CoV-2, and was first reported in

December 2019 in Wuhan, Hubei province, China. Most people infected with the COVID-19 virus will experience mild to moderate

respiratory illness and recover without requiring special treatment. Older people, and those with underlying medical problems

like cardiovascular disease, diabetes, chronic respiratory disease, and cancer are more likely to develop serious illness.

over 116 million confirmed cases and over 2.5 million deaths are reported since the start of the pandemic. Currently,

there are no definite approved therapies endorsed by the World Health Organization for COVID-19, focusing on supportive care and

preventive immunization.

Aeterna Zentaris Inc.

Zentaris Inc. is a specialty biopharmaceutical company commercializing and developing therapeutics and diagnostic tests. The Company's

lead product, macimorelin, is the first and only U.S. FDA and European Commission approved oral test indicated for the diagnosis

of adult growth hormone deficiency (AGHD). Macimorelin is currently marketed in the United States under the tradename Macrilen

through a license agreement with Novo Nordisk where Aeterna receives royalties on net sales. According to a commercialization

and supply agreement, Megapharm Ltd. will seek regulatory approval and then commercialize macimorelin in Israel and the Palestinian

Authority. Additionally, upon receipt of pricing and reimbursement approvals, Aeterna expects that macimorelin will be marketed

in Europe and the United Kingdom through a recently established license agreement with Consilient Health Ltd. and Aeterna will

receive royalties on net sales and other potential payments.

is also leveraging the clinical success and compelling safety profile of macimorelin to develop it for the diagnosis of childhood-onset

growth hormone deficiency (CGHD), an area of significant unmet need.

is actively pursuing business development opportunities for the commercialization of macimorelin in Asia and the rest of the world,

in addition to other non-strategic assets to monetize their value. For more information, please visit www.zentaris.com

and connect with the Company on Twitter, LinkedIn and Facebook.

press release contains forward-looking statements (as defined by applicable securities legislation) made pursuant to the safe-harbor

provision of the U.S. Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995, which reflect our current expectations regarding future events.

Forward-looking statements in this press release include those relating to the potential of the University's coronavirus

vaccine platform technology (and any vaccine candidates using that technology) to be effective as a vaccine against COVID-19 (SARS-CoV-2)

or any other coronavirus disease (or to offer an alternative to other approved vaccines against COVID-19, the ability to obtain

approval to commence any clinical trial or the timeline to develop any potential vaccine and the characteristics of any potential

vaccine (including cost, storage temperatures and oral availability and Aeterna's expectation that, upon receipt of pricing

and reimbursement approvals, macimorelin will be marketed in Europe and the United Kingdom and the initiation of Study P02, which

is expected to be initiated in Q2 of 2021. Forward-looking statements involve known and unknown risks and uncertainties, including

those discussed in this press release and in our Annual Report on Form 20-F, under the caption "Key Information - Risk Factors"

filed with the relevant Canadian securities regulatory authorities in lieu of an annual information form and with the U.S. Securities

and Exchange Commission. Known and unknown risks and uncertainties could cause our actual results to differ materially from those

in forward-looking statements. Such risks and uncertainties include, among others, that the University's coronavirus vaccine

platform technology (and any vaccine candidates using that technology) has never been tested in humans and so further pre-clinical

or clinical studies of that technology and any vaccine developed using that technology may not be effective as a vaccine against

COVID-19 (SARS-CoV-2) or any other coronavirus disease, that such technology or vaccines may not receive the necessary approvals

to be studied in human clinical trials, that the timeline to develop a vaccine may be longer than expected, that such technology

or vaccines may not be capable of being used orally, may not have the same characteristics (including storage temperatures) as

vaccines previously approved using the Salmonella Typhi Ty21a carrier strain, any such vaccine developed using the University's

technology may not lower the evolution of resistant viral mutants or may not be competitive with vaccines developed by third parties

against COVID-19, our ability to raise capital and obtain financing to continue our currently planned operations, our ability

to continue to list our Common Shares on the NASDAQ, our now heavy dependence on the success of Macrilen (macimorelin)

and related out-licensing arrangements and the continued availability of funds and resources to successfully commercialize the

product, including our heavy reliance on the success of the License Agreement with Novo Nordisk, the global instability due to

the global pandemic of COVID-19, and its unknown potential effect on our planned operations, including studies, our ability to

enter into out-licensing, development, manufacturing, marketing and distribution agreements with other pharmaceutical companies