Whitefort Capital Publishes Open Letter to Arbutus Biopharma Shareholders Outlining Paths to Maximize Value

Whitefort Capital Management, LP (together with its affiliates, “Whitefort Capital,” “us” or “we”), which is a long-term investor and the second largest shareholder of Arbutus Biopharma Corp. (NASDAQ: ABUS) (“Arbutus” or the “Company”) with an ownership interest of approximately 6.8% of the Company’s outstanding shares, today published an open letter to shareholders outlining its views of the best paths forward to maximize value.

The full text of the letter is below:

May 17, 2024

Dear Fellow Shareholders,

Whitefort Capital Master Fund, LP (“Whitefort”) currently owns approximately 12.9 million common shares, or approximately 6.8% of the total outstanding stock of Arbutus Biopharma Corporation (“Arbutus,” “ABUS” or the “Company”).¹ Whitefort is the second largest shareholder of the Company, behind Roivant Sciences Ltd. (“Roivant”), the Company’s joint venture partner in Genevant Sciences Ltd. (“Genevant”), which holds the exclusive license to the Company’s lipid nanoparticle (LNP) delivery technology patents.

Whitefort is a long-term investor in Arbutus, having continuously held shares since October 2022. We are writing to you today to share our perspectives on maximizing value at Arbutus, and to explain why we now intend to take a more active approach with respect to our investment. We also want to ensure that the Board of Directors (the “Board”) and our fellow shareholders understand the urgency of these issues.

We appreciate having had the opportunity to speak with Board Chairman Dr. Frank Torti and Interim CEO and Board member Michael J. McElhaugh ahead of the Company’s Annual General and Special Meeting (“Annual Meeting”) on May 22, 2024. We hope to continue our constructive engagement with them and other members of the Board going forward. In our ongoing dialogue with the Company, we have requested that the Board act with urgency to terminate the Company’s at-the-market (ATM) program in order to avoid continued dilution and preserve the substantial value of the Company’s LNP patent infringement claims against Moderna, Inc. (“Moderna”) and Pfizer Inc. (“Pfizer”)/BioNTech SE (“BioNTech”). As such, we were encouraged to hear Mr. McElhaugh state at a conference this week that, given the Company’s substantial cash balance ($138 million as of March 31, 2024) and sufficient liquidity through Q2 2026, the Company does not “anticipate the need to further utilize the ATM this year.”² This is a step in the right direction. However, we believe that Arbutus should firmly commit to cease any further share issuances for the foreseeable future, including under the ATM program.