Asep Medical Holdings Inc. ("Asep Inc." or the "Company") (CSE: ASEP) (OTCQB: SEPSF) (FSE: JJ8) is pleased to announce the results of a recent scientific study led by Asep Inc.'s Founder, Chair and CEO, Dr. Robert Hancock, that concluded that severe COVID-19 is a form of sepsis based on analysis of blood gene expression signatures. Importantly, this study highlights the potential benefits of a rapid diagnostic test for sepsis, such as the Company's Sepset^{ER (TM)} sepsis diagnostic test, that could identify COVID-19 patients at risk of developing severe sepsis as well as providing a path to a precision medicine approach to enable individualized treatment for the disease. Asep Inc. is an innovator on the front lines of sepsis diagnosis. In advanced development, the Company's technology could significantly benefit the fight against sepsis in future pandemics, not just COVID-19. The study results were published on January 23, 2023, in the scientific journal Scientific Reports.

The study's introduction states, "In the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic (2020 – 2022), it is increasingly evident that many of the millions of individuals who die with severe disease succumb due to sepsis, a life-threatening dysfunctional response to infection. In addition, the characterization of COVID-19 disease as a type of sepsis has important clinical implications for the prognosis and treatment of severely-afflicted COVID-19 patients."¹ The study analyzed the blood of 124 early (1–5 days post-hospital admission) and late (6–20 days post-hospital admission) sampled patients with confirmed COVID-19 infections from hospitals in Quebec, Canada.

According to Dr. Hancock, "The results of this study can make a big difference to those treating the most severe and deadly cases of COVID-19 and emphasizes that severe COVID is essentially a form of severe sepsis. It also underscores the importance of early identification of sepsis in patients as they enter the emergency room. Our Sepset^ER test is fast, efficient and highly accurate at identifying those patients at the highest risk of progressing to severe sepsis. We are in the process of setting up subsequent clinical trials to demonstrate the utility of applying the Sepset^ER test on sepsis patients and identifying those patients at greatest risk of developing severe sepsis. The results of these clinical trials will be used to support our regulatory filings with the FDA to get the test cleared for use in hospitals."

Asep Inc.'s Chief Scientific Officer Evan Haney commented, "Since sepsis is the major reason underlying the most severe consequences in every pandemic to date, the Sepset^ER test will also have an important role in future pandemics, identifying those patients who need treatment from those with mild or asymptomatic disease."