Rakovina Therapeutics Expands Strategic Engagement with Renowned AI Drug Discovery Pioneer Dr. Artem Cherkasov

World leader in AI drug discovery to take on an expanded strategic advisory role, supporting AI drug discovery strategy, technology assessment and corporate development opportunities

VANCOUVER, British Columbia, Nov. 12, 2026 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Rakovina Therapeutics Inc. (TSX-V: RKV) (FSE: 7JO0) (OTCMKTS: RKVTF), a biopharmaceutical company advancing innovative cancer therapies through AI-powered drug discovery, is pleased to announce an expanded strategic advisory engagement with Dr. Artem (Art) Cherkasov, PhD, an existing member of the Company’s Scientific Advisory Board (SAB).

Dr. Cherkasov, an internationally recognized pioneer in computational drug discovery, artificial intelligence and precision cancer therapeutics, will continue to serve on Rakovina’s Scientific Advisory Board while taking on a more active role as Advisor AI Drug Discovery supporting the Company’s evaluation of new AI technologies, advancement of its discovery programs and pursuit of strategic partnerships.

Dr. Cherkasov’s expanded role fits closely with Rakovina’s AI strategy, which has three elements: strengthening the Company’s relationships with leading AI drug-discovery platforms, including securing exclusivity in its DNA-damage response (DDR) field; using multiple AI platforms, each specialized for different aspects of biochemistry and drug development, rather than relying on a single tool; and considering strategic alternatives, including mergers and acquisitions, that could add technologies, programs or scale.

Rakovina has been executing this strategy. On November 10, 2026, the Company announced an exclusive, worldwide and perpetual licence for DDR oncology drug discovery to the Artemis.AI™ platform, which incorporates Dr. Cherkasov’s Deep Docking™ technology, from Artemis Therapeutics Inc. (“Artemis”), where Dr. Cherkasov is a co-founder and Chief Technology Officer. On October 14, 2026, Rakovina announced that it had secured exclusivity over the optimized target product profile for its kt-5000 ATR inhibitor program from Variational AI Inc. (“Variational AI”), and on October [22], 2026, it reported that the kt-5000AI program, designed using Variational AI’s Enki™ generative AI platform, is advancing toward development candidate selection. On October 1, 2026, Rakovina announced a collaboration with Boston-based Celvion Therapeutics (“Celvion”) to apply Celvion’s EMphora™ AI platform to real-world clinical data for its ATR inhibitor program, and on October 28, 2026, the companies reported the results of their first analysis. These news releases are available on the Company’s website at www.rakovinatherapeutics.com and on SEDAR+ at www.sedarplus.ca.

“Our strategy is to build the strongest position we can in AI-enabled DDR drug discovery: exclusive access to the best platforms in our field, the flexibility to apply the right specialized AI to each problem, and openness to strategic transactions that can accelerate our growth,” said Kim Oishi, Chief Executive Officer of Rakovina Therapeutics. “Art has been using AI to accelerate drug discovery for more than 20 years and has an internationally recognized track record, and few people are better placed to judge which AI technologies will deliver results in the lab. His expanded involvement will help us evaluate emerging technologies, deepen our AI partnerships and assess corporate development opportunities as we execute our growth strategy.”

A World-class Scientific Leader with a Track Record of Commercial Innovation

Dr. Cherkasov is a Professor in the Department of Urologic Sciences at the University of British Columbia (UBC), a Tier 1 Canada Research Chair in Precision Cancer Drug Design and a Senior Scientist at the Vancouver Prostate Centre.

Over the course of his distinguished career, he has established an exceptional international reputation for applying computational science, machine learning and artificial intelligence to accelerate pharmaceutical discovery and therapeutic innovation.

His accomplishments include:

Pioneer of Deep Docking: Developed the groundbreaking AI-enabled drug discovery platform capable of screening billions of molecular structures against specific biological targets, dramatically accelerating the identification of potential drug candidates.

Landmark Roche / UBC Pharmaceutical Agreement: His research and computational drug discovery work contributed to a landmark licensing and commercialization agreement between UBC and Roche involving a potential treatment for advanced prostate cancer. Announced in 2015, the agreement included potential milestone payments of up to US$141.7 million, plus royalties, representing one of the most significant pharmaceutical commercialization agreements in UBC’s history.

COVID-19 AI Research Breakthrough: During the pandemic, Dr. Cherkasov led an interdisciplinary research initiative applying Deep Docking to identify potential inhibitors of SARS-CoV-2. Working with NVIDIA, Dell Technologies and UBC Advanced Research Computing, his team computationally screened approximately 40 billion molecular structures in just 19 days, identifying promising candidates for further investigation.

International AI Drug Discovery Recognition: His Deep Docking technology achieved first-place results in two international CACHE drug discovery challenges, including initiatives focused on Parkinson’s disease and COVID-19.

Extensive Intellectual Property and Research Portfolio: Dr. Cherkasov has co-authored more than 200 peer-reviewed scientific publications, contributed to more than 80 patent filings and helped advance eight drug candidates that have been licensed to pharmaceutical companies and commercial partners.

Significant Research Leadership: His work at UBC and the Vancouver Prostate Centre has attracted more than CAD $80 million in research funding, supporting advances in computational drug discovery, molecular modelling, cheminformatics and precision oncology.

Dr. Cherkasov’s career exemplifies the potential of AI to fundamentally transform traditional drug discovery by enabling researchers to explore vastly larger chemical spaces, prioritize promising compounds and accelerate the transition from computational predictions to experimental validation.

“AI and computational approaches are fundamentally changing how we discover and develop new therapeutics, creating significant opportunities to accelerate innovation,” said Dr. Art Cherkasov. “Realizing this potential requires the integration of scientific expertise, advanced technologies and strategic collaboration. I am pleased to expand my involvement with Rakovina and look forward to working with the team to strengthen its discovery capabilities, explore new opportunities and help shape the Company's next phase of growth.”

The Company believes that realizing the full potential of AI-driven drug discovery requires more than computational capabilities alone. Rakovina combines expertise in AI-enabled drug design with established wet-laboratory research capabilities and deep experience in oncology drug development, enabling the Company to advance promising AI-generated compounds through experimental validation, biological testing and further preclinical development. This integrated approach positions Rakovina to translate computational discoveries into tangible therapeutic opportunities.

“Art brings exceptional expertise in computational drug discovery that complements Rakovina's strengths in cancer biology, experimental validation and preclinical drug development,” said Dr. Mads Daugaard, President and Chief Scientific Officer of Rakovina Therapeutics. “The true potential of AI-driven drug discovery lies in our ability to translate computational predictions into compounds with demonstrated biological activity and therapeutic potential. By combining Art's expertise with our established wet-laboratory capabilities and oncology research experience, we see significant opportunities to strengthen our discovery programs and accelerate the advancement of promising new cancer therapeutics.”

Securities for Services Arrangement

In connection with his expanded role, the Company has entered into a consulting agreement with Dr. Cherkasov effective November 15, 2026, for a term of up to 24 months (the “Consulting Agreement”). Under the Consulting Agreement, Dr. Cherkasov will continue to serve on the Company’s Scientific Advisory Board and will provide advice on AI-enabled drug discovery and development and scientific and technical due diligence on new AI platforms. The services do not include investor relations, promotional or market-making activities.

Dr. Cherkasov will receive compensation of $160,000 per year, of which $100,000 is payable in cash in equal monthly instalments and $60,000 ($15,000 per quarter) is payable in common shares of the Company (“Shares”) under a securities-for-services arrangement in accordance with section 6.2 of TSX Venture Exchange (“TSXV”) Policy 4.4 – Security Based Compensation.

Shares will be issued quarterly in arrears, only after the services for the applicable quarter have been provided. The number of Shares for each quarter will be determined after the end of that quarter by dividing $20,000 by a deemed price per Share that will not be less than the Discounted Market Price (as defined in TSXV policies) on the date of determination. No warrants will be issued under the arrangement.

Dr. Cherkasov is Non-Arm’s Length Party of the Company. He is a co-founder, director and Chief Technology Officer of Artemis Therapeutics Inc., which is expected to receive Shares as consideration for the Artemis.AI licence announced on November 10, 2026. The arrangement will not result in the creation of a new Control Person. The issuance of Shares is subject to TSXV acceptance, and the Shares will be subject to a hold period of four months and one day from the date of issuance under applicable securities laws. The Company will issue a news release each quarter disclosing the number of Shares issued under the arrangement.

Joint Webinar

Rakovina Therapeutics will host a joint webinar with Artemis Therapeutics on November 18^th at 11:30AM PCT (Vancouver time) to discuss the recently announced collaboration between the two companies. The webinar will feature Mr. Kim Oishi CEO of Rakovina, Mr. Frank Holler, CEO of Artemis and Dr. Artem Cherkasov, Co-Founder and CTO of Artemis.

Registration details are available at: 
https://us02web.zoom.us/meeting/register/0osQiAWJRPWYLCCbvG1YgQ

For Further Information Contact:

Rakovina Therapeutics Inc.
Kim Oishi
CEO
kim.oishi@rakovinatherapeutics.com

Mark Mitchell
Communications
IR@rakovinatherapeutics.com

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

Notice Regarding Rakovina Therapeutics Forward-Looking Statements:

This release includes forward-looking statements regarding the Company and its business, which may include, but are not limited to, statements with respect to the proposed business plan of the Company and other statements. Often, but not always, forward-looking statements can be identified by the use of words such as “plans,” “is expected,” “expects,” “scheduled,” “intends,” “contemplates,” “anticipates,” “believes,” “proposes” or variations (including negative variations) of such words and phrases, or statements that certain actions, events or results “may,” “could,” “would,” “might” or “will” be taken, occur or be achieved. Such statements are based on the current expectations of the Company’s management. The forward-looking events and circumstances discussed in this release may not occur by certain specified dates or at all and could differ materially as a result of known and unknown risk factors and uncertainties affecting the Company, including risks regarding the biopharmaceutical industry, economic factors, regulatory factors, the equity markets generally, and risks associated with growth and competition, and the risk that the Company may not identify, negotiate or complete any partnership, licence or other strategic transaction on acceptable terms or at all.

Although the Company has attempted to identify important factors that could cause actual actions, events or results to differ materially from those described in forward-looking statements, there may be other factors that cause actions, events or results to differ from those anticipated, estimated or intended. No forward-looking statement can be guaranteed. Except as required by applicable securities laws, forward-looking statements speak only as of the date on which they are made, and the Company undertakes no obligation to publicly update or revise any forward-looking statement, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise. Readers are referred to the Company’s most recent filings on SEDAR+ for a more complete discussion of applicable risk factors and their potential effects. Copies may be accessed through the Company’s profile page at www.sedarplus.ca.