Defence Therapeutics CEO Highlights Recent Progress and Outlines Strategic Priorities in Letter to Shareholders
Defence Therapeutics’ new CEO sets a 12‑month roadmap centered on Accum‑based ADC partnerships, radiotherapeutics and an AccuTOX strategic review.
Rhea-AI Summary
Defence Therapeutics (DTCFF) released a CEO letter on September 8, 2026 outlining recent progress and strategic priorities.
New President and CEO Dr. Amie Phinney describes a sharpened focus on leveraging the proprietary Accum® drug-delivery platform in oncology. Following an earlier capital raise and additions to leadership, board, scientific staff and laboratory capabilities, the company plans to pursue growth through partnered programs and a focused internal pipeline. Development will concentrate on three areas: Accum®-enhanced antibody-drug conjugates (ADCs), Accum®-enabled radiotherapeutics, and defining the future of the clinical-stage AccuTOX® program.
The company is seeking revenue-generating ADC partnerships and licences, building a portfolio of Accum®-enabled radiotherapeutics toward clinical development, and undertaking a disciplined review of strategic options for AccuTOX®, including partnering, out-licensing or selective reactivation in melanoma.
Positive
- Capital raise completed earlier this year has strengthened the company’s financial position to support its next development phase
- Leadership and board expanded, including hiring a COO and Head of Radiotherapeutics to advance Accum®-enabled programs
- Clear 12‑month priorities focused on ADC collaborations, radiotherapeutics data generation, and a defined decision path for AccuTOX®
Negative
- AccuTOX® clinical development remains paused pending a strategic review of partnering, out‑licensing or selective reactivation
AI-generated analysis. How Rhea-AI works. Not financial advice.
Montreal, Quebec--(Newsfile Corp. - September 8, 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 provide a letter to shareholders from President and Chief Executive Officer Dr. Amie Phinney outlining recent corporate progress, strategic priorities and the Company's path forward.
Dear Shareholders,
Defence Therapeutics is entering an exciting new stage in its evolution, and I am honoured to have the opportunity to lead the company forward. My first month as CEO has been focused on deepening my understanding of our science, sharpening our strategy and identifying our highest-value opportunities. This work has reinforced my conviction that our Accum® drug-delivery technology is differentiated and has significant potential to enhance a broad range of oncology therapeutics.
Defence is a biotechnology company in a somewhat atypical position: we have been publicly funded through much of the development of our technology platform. This has enabled us to retain control of our technology, access the capital needed to advance it, and give investors the opportunity to join us in building a differentiated precision drug-delivery company.
Earlier this year, Defence strengthened its financial position through a successful capital raise, giving us the resources to prepare the company for its next stage of development. Since then, we have strengthened our leadership team, expanded our Board of Directors, made key scientific hires, invested in laboratory capabilities, and accelerated our radiotherapeutics strategy.
With this foundation in place, I believe Defence is well positioned for an important period of progress and growth.
We will pursue this through two complementary paths: advancing partnered programs that evaluate and leverage the potential of Accum® across next-generation biologic drugs, while building a focused pipeline of internally developed Accum®-enabled therapeutics.
Sharpening Our Strategy:
Over the past several years, our founding CEO, Sébastien Plouffe, and our scientific teams have built a broad body of work around Accum® and explored its potential across multiple therapeutic applications. As Sébastien transitions into his role as Executive Chairman, we are fortunate to retain his experience and commitment to the company.
My responsibility as the incoming CEO is to build on that foundation while bringing increased focus to where we invest our people and capital.
This means making choices.
Biotechnology companies rarely have the resources to pursue every scientifically interesting opportunity. The companies that create lasting value identify the areas where their science provides a meaningful advantage, generate the evidence required to validate that advantage, and focus resources on those opportunities.
That is the approach we are taking at Defence Therapeutics.
Our development strategy is focused on three core areas:
- Accum®-enhanced ADCs;
- Accum®-enabled radiotherapeutics; and
- Defining the path forward for our clinical-stage AccuTOX® program.
Establishing Accum® as an ADC-Enhancing Technology:
Antibody-drug conjugates (ADCs) have become one of the most important and rapidly evolving therapeutic modalities in oncology. Despite significant innovation in antibodies, targets, linkers and payloads, efficient intracellular delivery of the therapeutic payload remains an important challenge and an opportunity to further improve ADC performance.
This is the problem Accum® was designed to address.
Our studies to date have demonstrated Accum®'s potential to improve intracellular delivery and enhance ADC activity, including the potential for greater anti-tumour activity at lower doses. Our priority now is to evaluate this potential across a broader range of ADCs.
Importantly, we do not intend to compete with ADC developers—our objective is to enable them. We are actively engaging companies whose assets could benefit from Accum®, with the goal of establishing partnerships to evaluate Accum®’s potential to improve their ADCs.
Our commercial objective with this program is to drive adoption of Accum® through revenue-generating partnerships and licences. Over the longer term, we intend to reinvest revenue from these activities in emerging applications, including exploring Accum®’s potential to improve the delivery of next-generation payloads such as RNA and oligonucleotides.
Advancing Accum®-Enabled Radiotherapeutics:
Our second major area of investment is targeted radiotherapeutics, a rapidly growing field where we believe Accum® can offer a differentiated approach to improving the intracellular delivery and retention of radioisotopes in tumour cells.
We recently strengthened this program with the appointment of Dr. Ryan Simms as Chief Operating Officer and Head of Radiotherapeutics. Ryan brings more than 20 years of radiopharmaceutical development experience and the specialized expertise needed to accelerate this program.
Over the coming year, our focus will be on generating data to evaluate where Accum® may provide the greatest potential benefit and advancing the most promising Accum®-enabled radiotherapeutics toward clinical development.
Defining the Path Forward for AccuTOX®:
Our third priority is AccuTOX®, Defence's most clinically advanced asset.
Clinical development of AccuTOX® was paused last year as the company reassessed its development priorities and allocation of capital. Importantly, that decision did not eliminate the underlying asset or the body of preclinical work supporting it.
We are now undertaking a comprehensive review of the AccuTOX® program, with a particular focus on its potential positioning in melanoma.
Our objective is to determine the path that we believe has the greatest potential to create value from this asset without distracting from our core investment in Accum®.
That may include monetizing the program through an out-licensing transaction, advancing it with a co-development partner, or, if supported by the data and economics, reactivating it as an internal clinical program.
We will be disciplined in this assessment. AccuTOX® represents an important asset within Defence's portfolio, and any decision to deploy additional company capital toward clinical development will be weighed carefully against the opportunities we see in Accum®.
What You Can Expect Over the Next Twelve Months:
Over the coming twelve months, we will focus our efforts on three clear priorities:
- Identifying new ADC collaborations to evaluate Accum®'s potential to enhance partnered ADCs and create opportunities for broader adoption and licensing.
- Advancing our Accum®-enabled radiotherapeutics strategy by generating foundational data, expanding development capabilities and progressing a focused portfolio of Accum®-enabled assets toward clinical development.
- Communicating the path forward for AccuTOX®—whether through partnering, out-licensing or selective reactivation of clinical development in melanoma.
Looking Ahead:
With a differentiated technology platform and a focused strategy, Defence is well positioned to translate years of scientific innovation into programs and partnerships that can define our future.
As a shareholder myself, I understand the importance of demonstrating progress against these objectives. I intend to communicate with you regularly—not only about what we accomplish, but why we are making the choices we are making and how they contribute to long-term value.
Thank you for your continued confidence in Defence Therapeutics. I am tremendously excited about what lies ahead and look forward to sharing our progress with you.
Dr. Amie Phinney, PhD, MBA
President & Chief Executive Officer
Defence Therapeutics Inc.
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.
For further information:
Defence Therapeutics
Amie Phinney
President and Chief Executive Officer
P: (604) 306-8027
aphinney@defencetherapeutics.com
www.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/313184
FAQ
What are the three core areas of Defence Therapeutics’ development strategy?
The strategy focuses on three areas: Accum®-enhanced ADCs, Accum®-enabled radiotherapeutics, and defining the path forward for the clinical-stage AccuTOX® program. The company plans to use Accum® to improve intracellular delivery and efficacy of partnered ADCs and radiotherapeutics while determining how best to create value from AccuTOX® without diverting resources from the Accum® platform.
How does Defence Therapeutics plan to monetize its Accum® technology in ADCs?
The company is actively engaging ADC developers whose assets could benefit from Accum® with the goal of forming partnerships to test Accum® on their ADCs. The stated commercial objective is to drive adoption of Accum® through revenue-generating partnerships and licences, with potential future reinvestment of that revenue into emerging applications such as RNA and oligonucleotide payload delivery.
What is the planned focus for the Accum®-enabled radiotherapeutics program over the coming year?
Over the next twelve months, Defence aims to generate foundational data to determine where Accum® could provide the greatest benefit in targeted radiotherapeutics, expand development capabilities, and progress a focused portfolio of Accum®-enabled radiotherapeutic assets toward clinical development. The program is led by COO and Head of Radiotherapeutics Dr. Ryan Simms.
What options are being considered for the AccuTOX® program?
After pausing clinical development last year, Defence is conducting a comprehensive review of AccuTOX®, with emphasis on its potential positioning in melanoma. Options include monetizing the program through out‑licensing, advancing it with a co‑development partner, or, if supported by data and economics, reactivating it as an internal clinical program. The company states that any renewed capital deployment will be weighed carefully against Accum® opportunities.
What specific priorities has Defence Therapeutics set for the next twelve months?
The company highlights three main priorities for the coming year: (1) identifying new ADC collaborations to evaluate Accum® and create adoption and licensing opportunities; (2) advancing the Accum®-enabled radiotherapeutics strategy by generating data, expanding capabilities and progressing select assets toward the clinic; and (3) communicating a clear path forward for AccuTOX®, including potential partnering, out‑licensing or selective reactivation in melanoma.
How does Defence Therapeutics describe its use of public funding to date?
The company notes that it is in an atypical position for a biotechnology firm because it has been publicly funded through much of its technology platform development. This has allowed Defence to retain control of its Accum® technology, access capital to advance it, and offer public investors the opportunity to participate in building a precision drug‑delivery company.