-
Diabetes Research Institute is a Recognized World Leader in Cure-Focused Diabetes Research
- Schneider Children's Medical Center of Israel is the Only Highly Specialized Care Hospital of Its Kind in Israel and the Middle East
DELRAY BEACH, Fla., Jan. 3, 2012 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- PositiveID Corporation ("PositiveID" or "Company") (OTCBB:PSID), a developer of medical technologies for diabetes management and molecular diagnostic systems, announced today it has partnered with two leading diabetes research organizations, the Diabetes Research Institute ("DRI") at the University of Miami and Schneider Children's Medical Center of Israel ("Schneider Children's"), to support the continued development and study of PositiveID's diabetes management products.
PositiveID is currently developing Easy Check™, a non-invasive breath glucose detection device, GlucoChip™, a continuous glucose-sensing microchip, and the iglucose™ glucometer, a blood glucose meter with PositiveID's FDA-cleared iglucose technology built inside the device.
Moshe Phillip, Professor and Director of the Jesse Z. and Sara Lea Shafer Institute for Endocrinology and Diabetes, National Center for Childhood Diabetes at Schneider Children's Medical Center of Israel, said, "We at Schneider Children's believe in the importance of international collaborative research and partnering with innovative organizations like the DRI and PositiveID. We look forward to working with the DRI on their groundbreaking research, and with PositiveID on the study of their diabetes management products to provide better ways for people with diabetes, particularly children, to test their blood glucose painlessly."
Jay Skyler, M.D., Deputy Director of the DRI, stated, "The DRI is intently focused on finding a cure for diabetes, and we believe that working with respected authorities like Professor Phillip and Schneider Children's can help us reach our goal. While we continue to pursue our primary goal, we also look to develop the most promising research and technology advances, like those being developed by PositiveID, to improve the lives and outcomes of people affected by diabetes. We look forward to working with Schneider Children's and are pleased to continue our relationship with the PositiveID team."
Currently under development in Israel, Easy Check is a non-invasive breath glucose detection device that measures the level of acetone in a patient's exhaled breath and correlates that acetone level to a measure of blood glucose. The Easy Check technology is based on a patent-pending reagent cell that mixes a patient's exhaled air with a proprietary chemical compound, triggering a chemical reaction. The reaction is measured and software in the Easy Check device then interprets the measurement and correlates the patient's acetone level to the level of glucose in the body. Easy Check would eliminate a patient's need to prick his or her finger multiple times per day to get a blood sugar reading.
GlucoChip is an in vivo continuous glucose-sensing microchip based on PositiveID's Patent No. 7,125,382 for an "Embedded Bio-Sensor System" coupled with PositiveID's FDA cleared RFID implantable microchip. The Company has successfully created and laboratory-tested a stable and reproducible closed-cycle, continuous glucose sensing system that functions in the human blood fractions that are relevant to glucose analysis in the human body. Next, PositiveID will initiate integration of the biocompatibility, MEMS signal transduction and RFID communication components into the GlucoChip prototype. The Company believes measurement of glucose levels through this system will allow people with diabetes to monitor glucose levels in a less invasive manner than other continuous glucose monitoring systems available today.
The Company's iglucose mobile health system, cleared by the FDA in November 2011, uses wireless technology to empower individuals with diabetes to be more engaged in the self-management of their condition by eliminating the need to keep manual logbooks. iglucose connects to market leading, data capable glucometers to wirelessly and seamlessly communicate blood glucose readings to the iglucose diabetes management portal, where, with the user's consent, glucose readings can be shared automatically with family members, caregivers and healthcare professionals via text message, email or fax. The Company is now working to complete development of the iglucose glucometer, a blood glucose meter with "iglucose inside."
PositiveID Chairman and CEO William J. Caragol said, "We believe that joining forces with the DRI and Schneider Children's, two of the world's foremost diabetes research organizations, will enable us to accelerate the remaining development and study of our non-invasive diabetes management projects, and ultimately bring these ground-breaking products to market."
The most comprehensive diabetes research facility of its kind, the DRI is credited with changing the international research paradigm, ensuring that promising findings in the lab can be translated to patients in the fastest, safest and most efficient way possible. Through this translational process, the DRI bridges programs in the rapidly evolving fields of pancreatic stem cell development, tissue engineering, transplant immunology, cell transdifferentiation, molecular biology and regenerative medicine, among others, to approach the cure with a true multidisciplinary strategy.
Schneider Children's is the only comprehensive, highly specialized care hospital of its kind in the country of Israel and in the Middle East, dedicated exclusively to the well-being of all children and adolescents. Schneider Children's provides the full range of pediatric subspecialties and comprehensive paramedical services to all children. The medical center serves as the national referral center for Hematology-Oncology, Endocrinology and Childhood Diabetes, and Cardiology and is the country's leading institution in the field of bone marrow and organ transplants, such as heart and lung, liver and kidney.
More than 25 million children and adults in the U.S. have diabetes, or over 8 percent of the population, according to the 2011 National Diabetes Fact Sheet. The CDC predicts that nearly 30 percent of children born after the year 2000 will develop diabetes. Worldwide, the number of adults with diabetes has doubled over the last three decades to nearly 350 million and increased nearly three-fold in the U.S., according to a study published in the British journal Lancet. The lifetime risk of developing diabetes for those born in the year 2000 is 35 percent. The total cost of diagnosed diabetes in the U.S. is estimated at $200 billion.
For more information on iglucose, please visit www.iglucose.com.
About PositiveID Corporation
PositiveID Corporation develops unique medical devices and molecular diagnostic systems, focused primarily on diabetes management, rapid medical testing and airborne bio-threat detection. Its wholly-owned subsidiary, MFS, is focused on the development of microfluidic systems for automated preparation of and performance of biological assays. For more information on PositiveID, please visit www.PositiveIDCorp.com. ;
The PositiveID Corporation logo is available at http://www.globenewswire.com/newsroom/prs/?pkgid=7717
Statements about PositiveID's future expectations, including the likelihood that the DRI and Schneider Children's will support the continued development and study of PositiveID's diabetes management products; the likelihood that Easy Check would eliminate a patient's need to prick his or her finger multiple times per day to get a blood sugar reading; the likelihood that the Company has successfully created a stable and reproducible closed-cycle, continuous glucose sensing system that functions in the human blood fractions that are relevant to glucose analysis in the human body; the likelihood that PositiveID will initiate integration of the biocompatibility, MEMS signal transduction and RFID communication components into the GlucoChip prototype; the likelihood that the measurement of glucose levels through the GlucoChip system will allow people with diabetes to monitor glucose levels in a less invasive manner than other continuous glucose monitoring systems available today; the likelihood that the Company will complete development of the iglucose glucometer; the likelihood that joining forces with the DRI and Schneider Children's will enable the Company to accelerate the remaining development and study of its non-invasive diabetes management projects, and ultimately bring these ground-breaking products to market; the likelihood that nearly 30 percent of children born after the year 2000 will develop diabetes; the likelihood that the lifetime risk of developing diabetes for those born in the year 2000 is 35 percent; and all other statements in this press release other than historical facts are "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 PositiveID's ability to successfully commercialize iglucose; the Company's ability to complete development of Easy Check and GlucoChip, as well as certain 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 25, 2011, and 10-Qs filed on May 13, 2011, August 15, 2011, and November 14, 2011, 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.