SOUTH EASTON, Mass. and MILPITAS, Calif., March 19, 2012 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Pressure BioSciences, Inc. (Nasdaq:PBIO) ("PBI" and the "Company"), a leading sample preparation tools company for the research market and Sage-N Research, Inc. ("Sage-N"), a world leader in computational proteomics, today announced a collaboration to develop software applications on Sage-N's SORCERER™ Integrated Data Appliance platform. The new software will be designed to work with PBI's patented and enabling pressure cycling technology ("PCT") system, a novel technology platform that is used to extract, among other biomolecules, integral cell membrane and other proteins for subsequent mass spectrometry analysis.
Integral cell membrane proteins are of significant clinical importance due to their roles in cell signal transduction in cancer, membrane transport disorders like Crohn's disease, pathogen invasion such as HIV, and their roles in other diseases and disorders. Unfortunately, integral cell membrane proteins are traditionally very difficult to extract. In some cases, harsh chemicals are used in the extraction process, causing such severe protein degradation that subsequent proteomic analysis is compromised.
PBI's PCT Platform uses rapid cycles of low and ultra-high pressure to safely and effectively extract proteins from samples (including cell membranes) that are suitable for analysis by analytical methods such as mass spectrometry. The PCT Platform also provides a high level of automation, speed, and reproducibility in the enzymatic breakdown of proteins. This allows the PCT-enhanced digestion to be completed in under an hour, compared to the standard four to twelve hours.
Richard T. Schumacher, President and CEO of PBI, said: "We plan to seamlessly integrate PBI's front-end PCT Sample Preparation System (instruments and consumables) with Sage-N's SORCERER back-end data reduction software. We expect to offer this bundled platform as an option to stand-alone sample preparation and data reduction methods used currently by the mass spectrometry laboratory. We believe that by bundling these enabling platforms, we will be offering a higher quality, more efficient, and less costly solution than they currently have for sample preparation and data reduction. Since the companies now target an identical market – the mass spectrometry laboratory – we expect to share a number of marketing and selling programs directed at this market going forward. Overall, we believe our new co-marketing program will reduce costs and increase sales for both PBI and Sage-N before the end of 2012."
"Mass spectrometry proteomics continues to evolve from a general-purpose protein identification technology to specialized applications, such as characterization of membrane proteins and detecting novel pathogens," noted David Chiang, Chairman of Sage-N Research. "Our SORCERER platform continues to evolve to meet the ever expanding IT needs of mass spectrometry labs by providing advanced companion tools for these applications."
Sage-N Research's SORCERER Integrated Data Appliance platform provides complementary software applications that are customized for each particular sample preparation chemistry. This results in a semi-automated system for membrane and other protein analysis that can use any modern tandem mass spectrometer and liquid chromatography system.
About Sage-N Research, Inc.
Sage-N Research, Inc. is a world leader in supplying Integrated Data Appliances (IDAs) for proteomics research. The industry-leading SORCERER™ IDAs are plug-and-play productivity systems used by leading life science researchers worldwide to rapidly and accurately identify proteins and protein modifications in biological samples using mass spectrometry data. Founded in 2002, the company is a privately held corporation headquartered in Silicon Valley in California. Through strategic collaborations with leading scientists and companies, Sage-N Research advances the state of the art in ease-of-use applications and technology to enable world-changing discoveries in biology and medicine.
About Pressure BioSciences, Inc.
Pressure BioSciences, Inc. ("PBI") (Nasdaq:PBIO) is focused on the development, marketing, and sale of proprietary laboratory instrumentation and associated consumables based on Pressure Cycling Technology ("PCT"). PCT is a patented, enabling technology platform with multiple applications in the estimated $6 billion life sciences sample preparation market. PCT uses cycles of hydrostatic pressure between ambient and ultra-high levels to control bio-molecular interactions. PBI currently focuses its efforts on the development and sale of PCT-enhanced sample preparation systems (instruments and consumables) for forensics, biomarker discovery, bio-therapeutics characterization, vaccine development, soil and plant biology, 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. Such statements include, without limitation, statements regarding the advantages of the Company's PCT Sample Preparation System ("PCT SPS"), the collaboration between PBI and Sage-N Research, and the goals and expected results of the collaboration, including the seamless integration of the platforms, the advantages of the integration of Sage-N's software with the Company's PCT SPS to the mass spectrometry customer, and reduced costs and increased sales before the end of 2012. 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: due to unanticipated technical or scientific difficulties or the failure of the proteomics community to acknowledge the advantages of the PCT Platform, the Company's collaboration with Sage-N Research may not achieve the results anticipated by the Company; possible difficulties or delays in the implementation of the Company's strategies that may adversely affect the Company's continued commercialization of its PCT-based product line; 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; the Company may not be successful in raising additional capital necessary on acceptable terms, if at all, to fund the Company's operations beyond April 2012; and if the Company fails to achieve its plan to regain compliance with the NASDAQ Listing Rules for minimum stockholders' equity and the minimum bid price of $1.00 per share, the Company's common stock will be delisted from The NASDAQ Capital Market, which could impact the Company's ability to raise capital. 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, 2011, 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.
PBI filed a registration statement (including a prospectus) with the SEC for an offering to which this communication may relate. Before you invest, you should read the prospectus in that registration statement for the offering and other documents PBI has filed with the SEC for more complete information about PBI and the offering. You may get these documents for free by visiting EDGAR on the SEC Web site at www.sec.gov. Alternatively, PBI can arrange to send you the prospectus, when available, upon request.
For more information about Sage-N Research, Inc. please visit www.SageNResearch.com or e-mail info@SageNResearch.com. For further information on Pressure BioSciences, please visit: www.pressurebiosciences.com or http://bit.ly/wmA5X5 or email info@pressurebiosciences.com.