- Advances Partnership Aimed at Streamlining Cannabis and CBD Cultivator Production, Safety Standards, and Traceability While Increasing Brand Recognition -

Applied DNA Sciences, Inc. (NASDAQ: APDN) (Applied DNA or the “Company”), a leader in Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR)-based DNA manufacturing and nucleic acid-based technologies, today announced that its CertainT® platform has added support for StrainSecure 2.0 by TruTrace Technologies, Inc. (CSE: TTT; OTCQB: TTTSF) (“TruTrace”) that builds on the companies’ strategic sales, marketing, and technology integration partnership to advance their vision of an integrated, cannabis product validation and authentication supply chain security solution for cannabis companies. The two companies recently announced that Flora Growth (“Flora”) will utilize their integrated solution be as part of Flora’s global cannabis product validation platform. TruTrace is the developer of a fully integrated blockchain platform for the legal cannabis, food, and pharmaceutical industries.

StrainSecure 2.0 is designed specifically for the cannabis industry and aims to demystify the seed-to-sale process for all relevant stakeholders, including producers, distributors, shippers, government agencies, and consumers, by powering commercial standards via an immutable, shared ledger. Applied DNA’s CertainT platform has been integrated into TruTrace’s StrainSecure software platform since the launch of the companies’ strategic alliance in January 2021.

“Integrating our two platforms brings a unique end-to-end solution to the maturing international cannabis industry. With regulations and compliance standards being implemented worldwide, an integrated offering of StrainSecure 2.0 and CertainT can help cannabis companies meet these standards and provide product authenticity and transparency to end-user customers,” said John Shearman, vice president of marketing and cannabis lead at Applied DNA.

Applied DNA’s CertainT platform provides the physical tagging of cannabis products using a unique molecular tag to represent the brand and product. That tag is then tested at key nodes within a domestic or international supply chain. All authentication and chain-of-custody data are captured in the CertainT portal, which integrates with the TruTrace platform and will support StrainSecure 2.0. The molecular tag can be applied to cannabis plants, oils, lotions, tablets, edibles, and packaging to serve as an immutable indicator of authenticity, origin, and provenance.

TruTrace’s blockchain-based SaaS software is designed to guarantee product quality and strain genetics throughout global supply chains. Protecting consumers and brands from contaminants and counterfeiting is a key benefit of the platform.

Robert Galarza, CEO of TruTrace, stated, “Over the past two years and after extensive work with key partners, such as Applied DNA, we’ve gained a deep understanding of the new challenges facing this industry. Version 2.0 of StrainSecure, as well as its interoperability with CertainT, will allow us to provide clients with turnkey tools specifically designed to support product quality, traceability, customer engagement, and safety.”

Most software systems utilized in the industry are fragmented and are built to manage internal operations, with very little interoperability into secondary systems. This fragmentation leads to increased administrative costs, reduced revenue, and increased risks for stakeholders. To address some of these issues, StrainSecure 2.0 will include several robust features tailored to decrease administrative costs, increase revenue, scale business operations, and highlight product quality. StrainSecure 2.0 also includes a significant number of new features, including full integration into the CertainT® platform, that facilitate higher standards and fuels business growth. One such new feature is the Enhanced Scan Page, which serves as a marketing tool for brands by providing real-time data on products at the package level.

Galarza added, “The expectations of customers, as it relates to the quality of the products they choose to consume, has never been higher. StrainSecure 2.0 focuses on promoting good actors in the industry and giving them a solution, which unifies their network, mitigates risk, ensures compliance with commercial standards, and creates a safer and more consistent marketplace for their customers. Globally focused hemp and cannabis businesses equip themselves with StrainSecure™ to scale their business.”

About Applied DNA Sciences

Applied DNA is commercializing LinearDNA™, its proprietary, large-scale polymerase chain reaction (“PCR”)-based manufacturing platform that allows for the large-scale production of specific DNA sequences.

The LinearDNA platform has utility in the nucleic acid-based in vitro diagnostics and preclinical nucleic acid-based drug development and manufacturing market. The platform is used to manufacture DNA for customers as components of in vitro diagnostic tests and for preclinical nucleic acid-based drug development in the fields of adoptive cell therapies (CAR T and TCR therapies), DNA vaccines (anti-viral and cancer), RNA therapies, clustered regularly interspaced short palindromic repeats (CRISPR) based therapies, and gene therapies. Applied DNA has also established a COVID-19 diagnostic and testing offering that is in the early stages of commercialization and is grounded in the Company’s deep expertise in DNA.

The LinearDNA platform also has non-biologic applications, such as supply chain security, anti-counterfeiting and anti-theft technology. Key end-markets include Gov/Mil, textiles, pharmaceuticals and nutraceuticals, and cannabis, among others.

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The Company’s common stock is listed on NASDAQ under the ticker symbol ‘APDN,’ and its publicly traded warrants are listed on OTC under the ticker symbol ‘APPDW.’

Applied DNA is a member of the Russell Microcap^® Index.

About TruTrace Technologies

TruTrace Technologies is the developer of fully-integrated software, secured on a blockchain infrastructure, that gives clients’ the ability to store, manage, share and immediately access quality assurance and testing details, COAs, as well as motion and movement intelligence on inventory. The platform was specifically designed to power the traceability of testing standards within the legal cannabis, nutraceutical, food and pharmaceutical space with a focus on the authentication of source materials or ingredients used in formulation. For more information, please visit https://www.trutrace.co/.

Forward-Looking Statements

The statements made by Applied DNA in this press release may be "forward-looking" in nature within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 and the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Forward-looking statements describe Applied DNA’s future plans, projections, strategies, and expectations, and are based on assumptions and involve a number of risks and uncertainties, many of which are beyond the control of Applied DNA. Actual results could differ materially from those projected due to its history of net losses, limited financial resources, limited market acceptance, including Applied DNA’s ability to successfully enter into commercial contracts for the implementation of its CertainT® platform, shifting enforcement priorities of U.S. federal laws and other international laws relating to cannabis and cannabis derivative products, and various other factors detailed from time to time in Applied DNA’s SEC reports and filings, including our Annual Report on Form 10-K filed on December 17, 2020, and Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q filed on February 11, 2021, May 13, 2021, and August 12, 2021, and other reports we file with the SEC, which are available at www.sec.gov. Applied DNA undertakes no obligation to update publicly any forward-looking statements to reflect new information, events or circumstances after the date hereof or to reflect the occurrence of unanticipated events, unless otherwise required by law.

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