Pressure BioSciences, Inc. and ISS, Inc. Announce Two-Year Worldwide Co-Marketing and Distribution Agreement
ISS High Pressure Optical Cell Integrated with PBI Automated High Pressure Instrument: Combination Results in Unique Analytical System with Potential to Significantly Improve and Enhance Biopharmaceutical Drug Discovery and Development
SOUTH EASTON, MA / ACCESSWIRE / February 14, 2018 / Pressure BioSciences, Inc. (OTCQB: PBIO) ("PBI" and the "Company"), a leader in the development and sale of innovative, broadly enabling, high pressure-based instruments and related consumables for the worldwide life sciences industry, and ISS, Inc., a designer and manufacturer of advanced scientific instrumentation for over 30 years, today announced a two-year, global co-marketing and distribution agreement.
Thousands of scientists worldwide routinely use a powerful analytical method called optical spectroscopy to generate information on the composition of biological molecules, such as proteins, RNA, and DNA. Information obtained is used for many purposes, including the design and development of new drugs, diagnostics, vaccines, and disease preventive strategies. Interfacing innovative new capabilities with the optical spectrometer offers the potential to generate more, sometimes even critical information for the scientist.
High pressure optical spectroscopy is increasing in popularity because it offers a unique and very effective way to look at molecular interactions. Unlike chemicals, which take time to mix and interact with a biological sample and whose use often produces uncontrollable irreversible changes, high pressure is instantaneous and homogeneous and the line between reversibility and irreversibility can be better controlled by controlling the amount and duration of the applied pressure. These features help research scientists understand how biological molecules interact and function – information that can be critical to the discovery and development of new and improved drugs and diagnostics.
Dr. Ben Barbieri, President of ISS, said, "ISS is a worldwide, leading provider of high pressure optical cell systems that can be interfaced directly to our spectrometers or utilized as stand-alone units with non-ISS instruments. The pressure required for the optical cell is currently generated by a manual, crank-operated, non-automatable pressure generator. We believe that replacing this manual crank pressure generator with the computer controlled HUB 440/880 pressure instruments from PBI could result in the ability to visualize biochemical reactions as they are happening in the pressure cell. The PBI pressure generators will also facilitate automated and significantly faster data collection. Such systems could potentially have a significant and far-reaching impact on drug development and other important areas of biomedical research worldwide."
Dr. Alexander Lazarev, Vice President of R&D for PBI, said, "Our pressure-generating instruments are widely used to control enzymatic activity and manipulate protein conformation in biomarker discovery, quality control of biopharmaceuticals, and biophysical studies of protein drug targets. Currently, our customers can only visualize irreversible molecular changes remaining after samples are retrieved from a pressure chamber. However, interfacing the PBI HUB 440/880 pressure generators with the ISS high pressure optical cell system will allow scientists to visualize and measure pressure effects on molecular interactions and protein conformation as the reactions are taking place in the optical cell - in real time. This novel capability should help scientists better understand how proteins function and interact with other biomolecules, which is critically important in the development of better, more effective diagnostics and pharmaceuticals."
Dr. Nate Lawrence, Vice President of Marketing and Sales for PBI commented, "We are very pleased to enter into this co-marketing and distribution agreement with ISS. The unique combination of PBI's high pressure generators and ISS's high pressure optical cell system is expected to greatly benefit scientists in academic institutions, industry, and government who study biological samples and processes at the molecular level."
Dr. Lawrence continued, "This new ISS/PBI instrument system will be unveiled at the annual Biophysical Society Meeting (BPS), which begins on February 17th in San Francisco, CA. PBI and ISS have exhibit booths at the meeting, where the new instrument system will be showcased, and its cutting-edge applications presented to the more than 7,000 scientists expected to attend. Both companies will share their extensive customer contact lists to broadly promote this powerful combination of technologies to scientists worldwide, which we believe will result in increased sales in 2018 and beyond."
About ISS, Inc.
Since 1984, ISS has been committed to the design and development of innovative, highly-sensitive scientific instrumentation for research, clinical, and industrial applications. ISS instrumentation is used by scientists working in the life sciences, drug discovery, material sciences, and basic physical-chemical research applications. ISS instruments have been installed in university, government, and industry laboratories worldwide. In the United States, customers include – among others - academic institutions, pharmaceutical and biotech companies, the Mayo Foundation, the VA Administration, the National Institutes of Health, Oak Ridge National Laboratories, and the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA).
About Pressure BioSciences, Inc.
Pressure BioSciences, Inc. (OTCQB: PBIO) is a leader in the development and sale of innovative, broadly enabling, pressure-based solutions for the worldwide life sciences industry. Our products are based on the unique properties of both constant (i.e., static) and alternating (i.e., pressure cycling technology, or "PCT") hydrostatic pressure. PCT is a patented enabling technology platform that uses alternating cycles of hydrostatic pressure between ambient and ultra-high levels to safely and reproducibly control bio-molecular interactions (e.g., cell lysis, biomolecule extraction). Our primary focus is in the development of PCT-based products for biomarker and target discovery, drug design and development, biotherapeutics characterization and quality control, soil & plant biology, forensics, and counter-bioterror applications. Additionally, major new market opportunities have emerged in the use of our pressure-based technologies in the following areas: (1) the use of our recently acquired PreEMT technology from BaroFold, Inc. to allow immediate entry into the biologics contract research services sector, and (2) the use of our recently-patented, scalable, high-efficiency, pressure-based Ultra Shear Technology ("UST") platform to (i) create stable nanoemulsions of otherwise immiscible fluids (e.g., oils and water) and to (ii) prepare higher quality, homogenized, extended shelf-life or room temperature stable low-acid liquid foods that cannot be effectively preserved using existing non-thermal technologies.
Forward-Looking Statements
Statements contained in this press release regarding PBI's intentions, hopes, beliefs, expectations, or predictions of the future are "forward-looking'' statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These statements are based upon the Company's current expectations, forecasts, and assumptions that are subject to risks, uncertainties, and other factors that could cause actual outcomes and results to differ materially from those indicated by these forward-looking statements. These risks, uncertainties, and other factors include, but are not limited to, the risks and uncertainties discussed under the heading "Risk Factors" in the Company's Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2016, and other reports filed by the Company from time to time with the SEC. The Company undertakes no obligation to update any of the information included in this release, except as otherwise required by law.
Investor Contacts:
Richard T. Schumacher, President & CEO Pressure BioSciences, Inc.
Nathan P. Lawrence, Ph.D., VP of Marketing and Sales (508) 230-1828 (T)
Beniamino Barbieri, Ph.D., President ISS, Inc. (217) 359-8681 (T)
For more information about PBI and this press release, please click on the following website link:
http://www.pressurebiosciences.com
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SOURCE: Pressure BioSciences, Inc.
Released February 14, 2018