Atossa Genetics Launches Nationwide Awareness Program for Breast Cancer Prevention Test

SEATTLE, WA--(Marketwired - Apr 15, 2013) - Atossa Genetics, Inc. (NASDAQ: ATOS), The Breast Health Company™, today announced the launch of a new National Awareness Program, including a video to educate women and health care providers on the prevention of breast cancer by early testing for pre-cancerous breast conditions using The ForeCYTE Breast Health Test. The video is available on Atossa's home page at www.atossagenetics.com and is being distributed directly to healthcare providers nationwide.

As the first step in the awareness program, Atossa has released the new video to inform women and their doctors about Atossa's "Pap smear for the breast" for early detection of cancerous cells and pre-cancerous conditions. While mammograms can detect cancer, Atossa's test detects treatable pre-cancerous conditions in the breast up to eight years before cancer arises. In women with certain pre-cancerous changes, breast cancer incidence can be reduced by as much as 86 percent with existing medical treatments. 

In addition, women with dense breasts, whom research shows may be at a higher risk for breast cancer and for whom mammograms are often less reliable, can be tested easily with the ForeCYTE test in their healthcare providers' office.

"Early testing for certain pre-cancerous conditions of the breast that, if left untreated, can lead to breast cancer, is immensely valuable to patients and their loved ones," said Chris Destro, Vice President. "Our video(s), website, blog and interactive National Awareness Program are designed to be a new source of information for consumers and healthcare providers seeking to learn about new, non-invasive detection options, like the ForeCYTE test."

In the video, Kathryn J. Wood, M.D., F.A.C.O.G, a Board Certified OB/GYN who now uses Atossa's ForeCYTE Breast Health Test in her practice in the Dallas area, notes that early detection is key to saving lives and encourages her patients to be tested for pre-cancerous changes, which Atossa believes is important in reducing the incidence of breast cancer.

Updates to the Atossa National Awareness Program will be announced periodically and on CEO Dr. Steven Quay's blog, which can be accessed through Atossa's website at http://atossagenetics.com/blog/.

About the ForeCYTE Breast Health Test

The ForeCYTE Breast Health Test, intended for the 110 million women in the U.S. ages 18 to 73, is a painless, quick and non-invasive procedure that can be done in a physician's office. A small sample of fluid, aspirated from the nipple of each breast with the Company's modified breast pump, can provide vital early detection of cancer or pre-cancerous conditions that may progress to cancer over an approximately eight year period and before cancer can be detected by mammography or other means and without the risks of radiation, especially in women younger than age 50. No invasive biopsy needles or open surgical incisions are used in the Atossa test and the test is painless.

Just as the Pap smear has reduced cervical cancer rates by over 70 percent, becoming the most successful screening test in medicine, the goal of Atossa Genetics is to reduce the stubbornly high rate of breast cancer through the early detection of the precursor changes that can lead to breast cancer and the treatment of those early changes. 

About Atossa Genetics, Inc.

Atossa Genetics, Inc. (NASDAQ: ATOS), The Breast Health Company™, is based in Seattle, WA, and is focused on preventing breast cancer through the commercialization of patented, FDA-designated Class II diagnostic medical devices and patented, laboratory developed tests (LDT) that can detect precursors to breast cancer up to eight years before mammography, and through research and development that will permit it to commercialize treatments for pre-cancerous lesions.

The National Reference Laboratory for Breast Health (NRLBH), a wholly owned subsidiary of Atossa Genetics, Inc., is a CLIA-certified high-complexity molecular diagnostic laboratory located in Seattle, WA, that provides the patented ForeCYTE Breast Health Test, a risk assessment test for women 18 to 73 years of age, and the ArgusCYTE Breast Health Test, a blood test for recurrence in breast cancer survivors that provides a "liquid biopsy" for circulating cancer cells and a tailored treatment plan for patients and their caregivers.

Forward-Looking Statements

Forward-looking statements in this press release are subject to risks and uncertainties that may cause actual results to differ materially from the anticipated or estimated future results, including the risks and uncertainties associated with marketing plans, actions by the FDA, regulatory clearances, responses to regulatory matters, Atossa's ability to continue to manufacture and sell its products, the efficacy of Atossa's products and services, the market demand for and acceptance of Atossa's products and services, performance of distributors and other risks detailed from time to time in Atossa's filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission, including without limitation its registration statement on Form S-1 filed January 28, 2013, and periodic reports on Form 10-K and 10-Q, each as amended and supplemented from time to time.