FOR
IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Investor
Contacts:
|
|
Richard T. Schumacher, President &
CEO
|
Pressure
BioSciences, Inc.
|
R.
Wayne Fritzsche, Chairman
|
(508)
230-1828 (T)
|
Pressure
BioSciences, Inc. to Receive Approximately $623,000
From
Tax Refund Due to the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act
South
Easton, MA, March 30, 2009 – Pressure BioSciences, Inc. (NASDAQ: PBIO) (“PBI”
and the “Company”) today announced that it will file a Form 1139, Corporation
Application for Tentative Refund, to request a refund of federal taxes paid for
the 2004 calendar year. The five-year carry back of 2008 net
operating losses (“NOLs”) for eligible small businesses is available under the
American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (“ARRA”) of 2009, passed by Congress and
signed into law by President Obama in February 2009. The Company
expects to book an income tax receivable of approximately $623,000 in the first
quarter of 2009 due to the change in the tax law. The Company expects
to file the application for the refund within the next 90 days.
As
previously announced, the Company completed a private placement on February 12,
2009 that resulted in gross proceeds to PBI of $1,805,270. These
funds, together with the income tax receivable of approximately $623,000, have
increased the Company’s unaudited total stockholders equity as of February 28,
2009 to greater than $3.5 million.
Mr.
Richard T. Schumacher, President and CEO of PBI, said: “All available resources
at PBI are now focused on our most important strategic business goal of 2009 –
to complete the development of the PCT-enhanced Protein Digestion System
(“PCT-enhanced PDS”) by the end of the second quarter. Because of the
additional funds that will soon be available to us through the ARRA NOL
provision, we have recently re-hired two former employees who were released last
November as part of the Company’s announced restructuring plan, one of whom is
full time and the other is part time. These two employees fill vacant
but extremely important positions; having them back will help ensure that we
meet, or perhaps even beat, our June 30th
PCT-enhanced PDS product release date.”
Mr.
Joseph Damasio, Controller of PBI, commented: “We will continue to closely
monitor expenditures as we support our on-going product development and sales
efforts. Through a combination of cost containment and product sales,
we believe that we will meet our stated goal of reducing cash burn to an average
of less than $600,000 per quarter during 2009.”
Designed
specifically for the large and growing mass spectrometry marketplace, the
Company believes that the PCT-enhanced PDS will offer significant advantages
over other sample preparation methods currently used to digest proteins in
preparation for mass spectrometry. These advantages are expected to
include high throughput, reduction in protein digestion time (hours to minutes),
an increase in yield and quality, and the ability to bring standardization to
this crucial step in mass spectrometry analysis.
About
Pressure BioSciences, Inc.
Pressure
BioSciences, Inc. (PBI) is a publicly traded company focused on the development
of a novel, enabling technology called Pressure Cycling Technology
(PCT). PCT uses cycles of hydrostatic pressure between ambient and
ultra-high levels (up to 35,000 psi and greater) to control bio-molecular
interactions. PBI currently holds 13 US and 6 foreign patents
covering multiple applications of PCT in the life sciences field, including
genomic and proteomic sample preparation, pathogen inactivation, the control of
chemical (primarily enzymatic) reactions, immunodiagnostics, and protein
purification. PBI currently focuses its efforts in the development
and sale of PCT-enhanced enzymatic digestion products designed specifically for
the mass spectrometry marketplace, as well as sample preparation products for
biomarker discovery, soil and plant biology, forensics, histology, and
counter-bioterror applications.
Forward
Looking Statements
Statements
contained in this press release regarding the Company'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. Forward looking statements include statements regarding the expected
federal refund of taxes paid for the 2004 calendar year, and the expectation
that the refund application will be filed in the next 90 days; the Company’s
estimate that its stockholders equity as of February 28, 2009 exceeded $3.5
million; the expectation that the Company will complete the development of the
PCT-enhanced PDS by June 30, 2009, and that the re-hiring of the two former
employees will help the Company meet or beat this release date; that by closely
monitoring expenditures and supporting product development and sales efforts,
the Company will meet its goal of reducing cash burn to under $600,000 per
quarter in 2009; the Company’s decision to focus primarily on the application of
PCT-enhanced protein digestion for the mass spectrometry market and the benefits
and advantages of PCT and the PCT-enhanced PDS in this marketplace; and the use
of PCT in biomarker discovery, soil and plant biology, forensics, histology, and
counter-bioterror applications. 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 risk that the Company may not receive the refund of federal taxes for the
2004 calendar year on a timely basis or at all due to unexpected reasons; the
risk that the Company may be unable to reduce its cash burn rate below $600,000
due to unexpected increases in costs and therefore the Company will need
additional capital sooner than anticipated; possible difficulties or delays in
the implementation of the Company's strategies that may adversely affect the
Company's continued commercialization of PCT; changes in customer’s needs and
technological innovations; the Company’s sales force may not be successful in
selling the Company’s PCT product line because scientists may not perceive the
advantages of PCT over other sample preparation methods, particularly in the
mass spectrometry market; and scientists may not be able to duplicate the
results achieved at particular laboratories having already used
PCT. Further, the Company expects that it will need additional
capital to fund its continuing operations beyond the second quarter of 2010.
Additional risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ
materially from those indicated by these forward-looking statements are
discussed under the heading "Risk Factors" in the Company's Annual Report on
Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2007, 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.
Visit us at our website http://www.pressurebiosciences.com