SALT LAKE CITY, May 24, 2017 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Great Basin Scientific, Inc. (OTCQB:GBSN), a molecular diagnostics company, today announced that the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) issued U.S. Patent 9,657,353 for the Company’s amplification suppressor. This patent is the second U.S. patent relating to Great Basin’s amplification suppressor technology, expanding the Company’s protection to assays, kits, and products. The protection afforded by this patent allows the Company to explore licensing of the technology to applications such as medical research, food safety, veterinary, and more.
“Environmental contamination by Staphylococcus species or any other bacteria environmental contaminant of clinical samples—producing false positive results—is a problem that has stymied the molecular diagnostics industry since its beginning, which was the impetus for our development of this technology,” said Robert D. Jenison, chief technology officer of Great Basin Scientific. “We believe our amplification suppressor is an important scientific advancement in its ability to fully suppress non-life-threatening environmental contaminants from a clinical sample. This important technology enables us to seek licensing opportunities with molecular diagnostics companies that operate outside of our market niche, and aligns with our growth strategy to broaden our revenue stream.”
The technology, currently utilized in the Company’s Staph ID/R Blood Culture Panel, distinguishes between Staphylococcus species present in a clinical sample from a Staphylococcus contamination that is introduced during the sample collection or testing process. While not negatively impacting the appropriate clinical assay limit of detection, Great Basin’s technology completely blocks detection of contaminants present in the environment that may lead to a false positive result and potential misdiagnosis of a patient. A study, which was led by Jenison and published in the April issue of PLOS ONE, showed that the Company’s amplification suppressor completely blocked environmental contaminants in a clinical sample that were detected at rates as high as 40%. The full study can be accessed here.
The new patent protects Staphylococcus-based products, including nasal swabs and pre-surgical screens, such as methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) screens. Great Basin’s Staph ID/R Blood Culture Panel is the Company’s first commercial embodiment of the patented amplification suppressor technology. In addition to being used in its Staph ID/R Blood Culture Panel, the amplification suppressor technology is being utilized in the Company’s in-development SA Nasal Screen Test, and is expected to be used in future tests and panels.
With this patent, Great Basin has eight U.S. patents issued, with 11 additional patents pending.
Great Basin’s molecular diagnostics system offers low-, mid-plex and multiplex testing, with commercial assays available for the detection of Shiga Toxin-producing Escherichia coli (STEC), Group B Streptococcus (GBS), Toxigenic Clostridium difficile (C. diff), Bordetella pertussis, and a Staph ID/R Blood Culture Panel (SIDR) for identifying bloodstream infections caused by MRSA and other Staphylococcus species. Additionally, the Company is awaiting 510(k) clearance from the U.S. Food & Drug Administration (FDA) on a Stool Bacterial Pathogens Panel. Other tests in development include a direct-from-blood Candida Blood Infections Panel, a CT/NG/TV Test, and a Nasal S. aureus Pre-surgical Screen Test.
About Great Basin Scientific
Great Basin Scientific is a molecular diagnostics company that commercializes breakthrough chip-based technologies. The Company is dedicated to the development of simple, yet powerful, sample-to-result technology and products that provide fast, multiple-pathogen diagnoses of infectious diseases. The Company's vision is to make molecular diagnostic testing so simple and cost-effective that every patient will be tested for every serious infection, reducing misdiagnoses and significantly limiting the spread of infectious disease. More information can be found on the Company's website at www.gbscience.com.
Forward-Looking Statements
This press release includes forward-looking statements regarding events, trends and business prospects, which may affect our future operating results and financial position, including but not limited to statements regarding our ability to license our technology, the ability to add revenue from such license arrangements and our ability to expand the use of our amplification suppressor technology in future tests and panels. Forward-looking statements involve risks and uncertainties, which could cause actual results to differ materially, and reported results should not be considered as an indication of future performance. These risk and uncertainties include, but are not limited to: (i) our limited operating history and history of losses; (ii) our ability to develop and commercialize new products and the timing of commercialization; (iii) our ability to obtain capital when needed; and (iv) other risks set forth in the Company's filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission, including the risks set forth in the Company's Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2016 and in the Company’s Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for the period ended March 31, 2017. These forward-looking statements speak only as of the date hereof, and Great Basin Scientific specifically disclaims any obligation to update these forward-looking statements, except as required by law.