Belgium - Celyad Oncology (Euronext: CYAD) (the 'Company'), today announces its financial results for the fiscal year 2023 ended December 31, 2023, and provides a business update.

Michel Lussier, interim Chief Executive Officer of Celyad Oncology, commented: 'Over the last 2 years, Celyad Oncology has completed a significant strategic shift with the ambition to stay at the forefront of innovation in immunotherapy, and more precisely, chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) T-cell therapy. I am glad to report that, throughout the past year, the hard work and dedication of the entire Celyad Oncology team has generated remarkable achievements and positive changes throughout the Company, confirming the value creation potential of our strategic choices.'

2023 corporate accomplishments

The Company has secured an EUR 9.8 million private placement from historical shareholders intended to cover our operating expenses well into the second quarter of 2025.

2023 operational highlights

Multiplex short hairpin ribonucleic acid (shRNA) non-gene edited technology - The company developed a chimeric micro-RNA (miRNA) cluster to enable multiplexing of shRNAs, designed for easy, efficient, and tunable downregulation of up to four target genes simultaneously in CAR T-cells and data presented and published in 2023.

Updated results will be presented at the 27th American Society of Gene & Cell Therapy (ASGCT) Annual Meeting in Baltimore, US (May 7-11, 2024) during the Immune Targeting and Approaches with Genetically-Modified Cells and Cell Therapies Poster Session on Wednesday May 8 (abstract 837).

Multispecific NKG2D-based CAR T-cell platform - Different CD19/NKG2DL, BCMA/NKG2DL and PSMA/NKG2DL multispecific CAR T-cells were developed throughout the year and have provided the proof-of-concept that NKG2DL are valuable targets in a multispecific CAR approach by demonstrating our CD19/NKG2DL multispecific CAR T-cells could counteract relapses due to CD19 antigen loss in vivo.

Updated results will be presented at the 27th ASGCT Annual Meeting in Baltimore, US (May 7-11, 2024) during the Immune Targeting and Approaches with Genetically-Modified Cells and Cell Therapies Poster Session on Friday May 10 (abstract 1800).

Full year 2023 financial review

As of December 31, 2023, the Company's Treasury position amounts to EUR7.0 million.

After due consideration of detailed budgets and estimated cash flow forecasts for the years 2024 and 2025, the Company projects that its existing cash and cash equivalents will be sufficient to fund its estimated operating and capital expenditures into the second quarter of 2025, i.e over at least the next 12 months from the date that the financial statements are issued.

Celyad Inc. non-cash impairment

An impairment review of its financial results for the financial year ended 31 December 2023 show a non-cash impairment of EUR 14.9 million on a statutory basis only.

This results from the business strategy change, under which the Company has decided to discontinue the development of its remaining clinical programs, shifting from an organization focused on clinical development to one prioritizing R&D discovery and the monetization of its IP portfolio through partnerships, collaborations and license agreements. According to the accounting standards definition, as uncertainty exists on the timing and amount of the new strategy outcomes, the Company had to recognize a full impairment loss on the remaining value of the financial participation on the subsidiary Celyad Inc. This accounting conclusion, which reflects a picture of the situation on 31 December 2023, does not affect the Management's commitment to continue the exploitation of this US subsidiary in the new business strategy of the Company. Furthermore, this impairment may be reversed once there will be no more uncertainty on the chance to recover the financial participation into Celyad Inc.

The net assets of the Company per 31 December 2023, on a BE-GAAP non-consolidated basis, having fallen below half of the Company's capital, the board of directors will submit to the ordinary shareholders meeting on the 6th of May 2024 the proposal to continue the Company's activities in accordance with article 7:228 of the Belgian Code for Companies and Associations. The board of directors will publish a special report in this respect, by the 5th of April 2024 together with the convening notice with proposed resolutions for the shareholders' meeting.

Annual Report 2023

The Annual Report for the year ended December 31, 2023 will be published on April 05, 2024, and will be available on the Company's website, www.celyad.com. The Company's statutory auditor, BDO Reviseurs d'Entreprises SRL, has confirmed that the completed audit has not revealed any material misstatement in the consolidated financial statements. BDO also confirmed that the accounting data reported in the press release are consistent, in all material respects, with the consolidated financial statements from which it has been derived.

Contact:

Tel: +32(0) 10 39 41 00

Fax: +32(0) 10 39 41 41

Email: info@celyad.com

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