Burcon Announces Board Change and Appointments

Vancouver, British Columbia--(Newsfile Corp. - January 15, 2019) -  Burcon NutraScience Corporation (TSX: BU) ("Burcon" or the "Corporation"), announces that effective today, Dr. Allan Yap has decided to step down from his positions as Chairman, director and Chief Executive Officer of the Corporation for personal reasons. The board of directors of Burcon (the "Board") is pleased to announce that Dr. Lorne Tyrrell has been appointed as Chairman of the Board and Mr. Johann Tergesen has been appointed as the Corporation's Chief Executive Officer.

"Dr. Allan Yap was instrumental in the founding of Burcon serving as Chairman, director and as chief executive officer for more than nineteen years. The Board is grateful for his guidance and leadership over the years," said Dr. Lorne Tyrrell, adding, "Allan made significant contributions to Burcon during his tenure."

On January 14, 2019, Large Scale Investments Limited, a company wholly-owned by Burcon director Mr. Alan Chan, announced that it had acquired from Dr. Yap 1,566,719 common shares of Burcon. The total number of Burcon shares, which Mr. Chan is now deemed to beneficially own post-acquisition of Dr. Yap's shares is 11,433,287, which represents 26.02% of the issued and outstanding shares of Burcon.

Dr. Tyrrell first joined Burcon's board of directors in December 2009 and was appointed Lead Director in February 2016 and chaired Board meetings in Dr. Yap's absence. As Lead Director, Dr. Tyrrell also acted as liaison between the Board and management of Burcon. Dr. Tyrrell is the Glaxo SmithKline Chair in Virology in the Department of Medical Microbiology and Immunology at the University of Alberta. Since 1986, he has focused his research on viral hepatitis. Supported by Canadian Institute of Health Research and Glaxo Canada, Dr. Tyrrell's work on the development of antiviral therapy resulted in the licensing of the first oral antiviral agent to treat chronic hepatitis B infection - lamivudine - in 1998. Dr. Tyrrell holds more than 50 international patents for his studies on viral hepatitis. Dr. Tyrrell was Dean of the Faculty of Medicine and Dentistry from 1994 - 2004 at the University of Alberta and is currently the Chair of the Board of Directors of the Gairdner Foundation. The Canada Gairdner International Awards recognizes excellence in medical science research globally. Dr. Tyrrell has received numerous prestigious awards including the Gold Medal of the Canadian Liver Foundation (2000), the FNG Starr Award of the Canadian Medical Association (2004), the Principal Award of the Manning Awards Foundation (2005) and the Queen Elizabeth II Diamond Jubilee Medal (2012). Dr. Tyrrell was appointed Officer of the Order of Canada in 2002. In April 2010, Dr. Tyrrell was appointed as the inaugural director of the Li Ka Shing Institute of Virology at the University of Alberta. On April 28, 2011, Dr. Tyrrell was inducted to the Canadian Medical Hall of Fame. In 2015, he was awarded the Canada Council for the Arts Killam Prize in Health Sciences.

Mr. Tergesen has served as Burcon's president and chief operating officer since September 2000, having held additional senior management roles with the Company since its inception as a capital pool company in 1998. He also served as a member of Burcon's board of directors for nearly fourteen years from November 1998 to September 2012. A plant protein industry veteran, Mr. Tergesen has helped guide Burcon's technology and intellectual property growth in alternative plant-based proteins.

About Burcon NutraScience Corporation

Burcon is a leader in developing functionally and nutritionally valuable plant-based proteins. The company has developed a portfolio of composition, application, and process patents originating from a core protein extraction and purification technology. Burcon's CLARISOY® soy protein - under license to the Archer Daniels Midland Company - offers clarity and high-quality protein nutrition for low pH beverage systems and excellent solubility and exceptionally clean flavor at any pH; Peazazz® is a uniquely soluble and clean-tasting pea protein; and Puratein®, Supertein® and Nutratein® are canola protein isolates with unique functional and nutritional attributes. For more information about the company, visit www.burcon.ca.

The TSX has not reviewed and does not accept responsibility for the adequacy of the content of the information contained herein. This press release contains forward-looking statements or forward-looking information within the meaning of the U.S. Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 and applicable Canadian securities legislation. Forward-looking statements or forward-looking information involve risks, uncertainties and other factors that could cause actual results, performances, prospects and opportunities to differ materially from those expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. Forward- looking statements or forward-looking information can be identified by words such as "anticipate," "intend," "plan," "goal," "project," "estimate," "expect," "believe", "future," "likely," "may," "should," "could", "will" and similar references to future periods. All statements other than statements of historical fact included in this release are forward-looking statements, including, without limitation, statements regarding expectations, intentions and plans contained in this press release. There can be no assurance that such statements will prove to be accurate and actual results and future events could differ materially from those anticipated in such statements or information. Important factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from Burcon's plans and expectations include the actual results of business negotiations, marketing activities, adverse general economic, market or business conditions, regulatory changes and other risks and factors detailed herein and from time to time in the filings made by Burcon with securities regulators and stock exchanges, including in the section entitled "Risk Factors" in Burcon's annual information form dated June 18, 2018 filed with the Canadian securities administrators on www.sedar.com. Any forward-looking statement or information only speaks as of the date on which it was made and, except as may be required by applicable securities laws, Burcon disclaims any intent or obligation to update any forward-looking statement, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise. Although Burcon believes that the assumptions inherent in the forward-looking statements are reasonable, forward-looking statements are not guarantees of future performance, and accordingly, investors should not rely on such statements.

CLARISOY is a trademark of Archer Daniels Midland Company.

Media & Industry Contact:
Paul Lam
Manager, Business Development
Burcon NutraScience Corporation
Tel (604) 733-0896, Toll-free (888) 408-7960
plam@burcon.ca www.burcon.ca