Last month, we entered definitive agreements with a Korean based private equity investor to raise approximately $23 million in gross proceeds. The transaction is expected to close during the second calendar quarter, subject to customary closing conditions.

Key technologies used in our multi-cancer early detection (MCED) blood test were in-licensed from Korea where preventative screenings are more common than in the U.S.

Additionally, to provide our current shareholders and customers an opportunity to invest in our continued growth, we have commenced another equity crowdfunding campaign, this time on the WeFunder platform. Visit this page to invest. (Those who commit early will receive an enhanced package of complimentary cancer tests.)

We intend to use the net proceeds of these financings, together with our existing cash for (1) continued sales and marketing growth (see below), and (2) development and acquisitions of additional biomarkers, data sets, and tests.

Last month, an article on multi-cancer early detection (MCED) tests in the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA), read by hundreds of thousands of healthcare professionals, made clear that our OneTest is currently one of only two MCEDs currently on the market. The article noted the significant cost savings of OneTest compared to Grail's test (our largest competitor), as well as the different biomarker formats. Since the article was published online, we have received inquiries from a diverse group of medical practices.

We received a Notice of Allowance from the U.S. Patent Office that a second patent will soon issue covering our MCED. The allowed claims broadly cover AI or machine learning approaches used with various protein tumor markers with an algorithm developed or trained with large numbers of patient records from a clinical study or real-world use. Patents are also expected to issue over the coming months in China, Japan, and Canada covering our MCED or our lung cancer test panel.

In January, the Maryland Department of Health began accepting applications for a new grant program for fire departments to cover the costs of innovative cancer screening tests. (According to NIOSH, firefighters have proven higher incidences and death rates for multiple cancers.) The entire $100,000 appropriated for this fiscal year was awarded to four Maryland fire departments who elected to utilize 20/20's OneTest for their members. Those awardees include the fire departments of Howard, Calvert and Prince Georges Counties as well as the city of Salisbury. For the fiscal year beginning July 1, 2024, the Maryland General Assembly voted to increase funds for this grant program to $500,000.

Other states are seeking to implement similar MCED funding programs for their firefighters, including New Jersey, New Hampshire and Oklahoma. Additionally, bipartisan legislation was introduced last year in the U.S. Congress to provide $700 million in grant funding for American firefighters to receive MCED tests. 20/20's OneTest is likely the most popular MCED used by firefighters in the U.S. with over ten thousand firefighters having been tested to date with new departments ordering each month.

We plan to hold a virtual information session on May 16, 2024, at 12 noon ET. Current shareholders and others seeking to learn more about our company are welcome to join. For details, please contact: investors@2020gene.com

In order to maintain our Reg. A+ Qualification we are required to file Annual and Semiannual Reports with the U.S. Securities & Exchange Commission (SEC) that include Financial Statements (the Annual Statement must be audited). Those reports may be accessed by entering "20/20 GeneSystems, Inc." at https://www.sec.gov/edgar/searchedgar/companysearch.html or by contacting investors@2020gene.com