DELRAY BEACH, Fla., Sept. 08, 2015 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- PositiveID Corporation (“PositiveID” or “Company”) (OTCQB:PSID), a developer of biological detection and diagnostics solutions, announced today that it has successfully detected Clostridium difficile (“C. diff”) on its Firefly Dx polymerase chain reaction (“PCR”) breadboard prototype pathogen detection system (“prototype system”) in less than 20 minutes. The C. diff assay, provided to the Company for testing by partner GenArraytion, Inc., is a more comprehensive and specific test than many other C. diff assays on the market as it tests for the C. diff chromosome as well as both Toxin A and Toxin B.
C. diff is a bacterium that most often affects older patients in hospitals or long-term care facilities after antibiotic use, and causes symptoms ranging from diarrhea to lethal inflammation of the colon. More than 500,000 people get sick each year from C. diff, which, like many hospital-acquired infections, has become more frequent, severe and difficult to treat.
In addition to C. diff, the Company recently announced its successful detection of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (“MRSA”), another common hospital-acquired infection, on its Firefly Dx prototype system. It has also successfully identified methicillin-susceptible Staphylococcus aureus (“MSSA”).
According to a market study published by Transparency Market Research, the global hospital acquired disease testing market is forecast to grow at a CAGR of 19.3% during the period of 2013-2019, and is expected to reach US$7.5 billion by the end of 2019.
“As we progress in the development of Firefly Dx, we not only make engineering improvements to the system, we also increase the breadth of our data by adding to the list of pathogens we can detect,” stated William J. Caragol, Chairman and CEO of PositiveID. “The hospital-acquired infection market is vast, and we believe our ability to successfully detect C. diff, MRSA, MSSA, and other pathogens quickly, accurately and cost-effectively, will enable us, upon completion, to provide Firefly Dx to hospitals and other care facilities to help stop the spread of the these and other dangerous infections.”
GenArraytion’s C. diff assay was run on PositiveID’s Firefly Dx prototype system, which is designed to provide real-time, accurate diagnostic results in a handheld device, thereby leading to treatment scenarios at the point of need that are not possible with existing systems, which require lab-based equipment, highly trained personnel, and can take hours or even days to provide results. Firefly’s applications include point-of-need, lab-quality, detection of pathogenic organisms; agricultural and food screening in both domestic sectors and developing countries; and detection of biological agents associated with weapons of mass destruction.
About PositiveID Corporation
PositiveID Corporation is a life sciences tools and diagnostics company that develops biological detection systems for point-of-need testing and America’s homeland defense industry. PositiveID is focused on the development of microfluidic systems for the automated preparation of and performance of biological assays in order to detect biological threats and analyze biological samples. For more information on PositiveID, please visit http://www.psidcorp.com, or connect with PositiveID on Twitter, Facebook or LinkedIn.
Statements about PositiveID's future expectations, including the likelihood that the global hospital acquired disease testing market is forecast to grow at a CAGR of 19.3% during the period of 2013-2019, and is expected to reach US$7.5 billion by the end of 2019; the likelihood that the Company’s ability to successfully detect C. diff, MRSA, MSSA, and other pathogens quickly, accurately and cost-effectively, will enable it, upon completion, to provide Firefly Dx to hospitals and other care facilities to help stop the spread of the these and other dangerous infections; constitute "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, and as that term is defined in the Private Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Such forward-looking statements involve risks and uncertainties and are subject to change at any time, and PositiveID’s actual results could differ materially from expected results. These risks and uncertainties include, without limitation, the Company’s ability to target the bio-threat detection and rapid medical testing sectors; the Company’s ability to complete the development and commercialization of its Firefly Dx system; as well as other risks. Additional information about these and other factors that could affect the Company's business is set forth in the Company’s various filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission, including those set forth in the Company's 10-K filed on March 30, 2015, and 10-Qs filed on August 13, 2015, May 15, 2015, and November 17, 2014, under the caption “Risk Factors.” The Company undertakes no obligation to update or release any revisions to these forward-looking statements to reflect events or circumstances after the date of this statement or to reflect the occurrence of unanticipated events, except as required by law.