DELRAY BEACH, Fla., Oct. 24, 2017 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- PositiveID Corporation (“PositiveID” or “Company”) (OTCPK:PSID), a life sciences company focused on detection and diagnostics, today announced that its ExcitePCR Corporation subsidiary has published a new white paper: PCR Unchained: The Coming Revolution in Field-Based Pathogen Detection. The white paper can be found on PositiveID’s and ExcitePCR’s websites.
The Company projects that systems like ExcitePCR’s FireflyDX™ family of products, currently under development, which are designed to provide accurate, rapid pathogen detection at the point-of-care/point-of-need (POC/PON) in less than 30 minutes with minimally trained personnel and at a lower cost than existing systems, could transform POC/PON diagnostics, estimated to be a $28 billion market within the next five years.
“As we’ve considered the breadth of existing PCR-based pathogen testing and detection systems, it is a troubling reality that few systems have been deployed in the field at the point-of-care or point-of-need,” said Dr. Kimothy Smith, DVM, Chief Science Officer of ExcitePCR, white paper co-author, and former Senior Advisor for International Biodefense for the Department of Homeland Security, Office of Health Affairs. “We believe that our FireflyDX products will have the ability to overcome the factors that have heretofore limited the widespread POC/PON adoption of PCR-based systems, resulting in significant changes to the industry and a major opportunity.”
The FireflyDX products, which include the FireflyDX-Portable™ and FireflyDX-Handheld™, are designed for use in several, multi-billion-dollar industries, markets where molecular diagnostics are critical to ensure rapid safety and treatment protocols. Existing solutions for accurately identifying potential pathogens and bio-threats, especially at the POC/PON, can sometimes take as long as several hours to several days to provide results, dramatically delaying what is often life-saving treatment, while also increasing costs, both personal and financial. In addition, most state-of-the-art PCR solutions in use today for pathogen detection typically require a professionally trained operator working in a pristine laboratory setting and/or are heavy, bulky and require a personal computer to function properly.
ExcitePCR’s FireflyDX-Portable is a rechargeable, bookbag-sized, realtime pathogen detection system designed to enable first responders, medical professionals and food safety officials to accurately obtain on-site results anywhere in the world in less than 30 minutes, including sample preparation time. ExcitePCR expects the FireflyDX-Portable will be commercially available in summer 2018. The FireflyDX-Handheld, a miniaturized version of the FireflyDX-Portable, is designed to fit in the palm of the hand and provide lab-quality sample to detection in less than 30 minutes at the POC/PON.
According to a report from bccResearch, the global POC diagnostics market was valued at nearly $18.0 billion in 2015, and is expected to grow from $19.3 billion in 2016 to $28.3 billion in 2021 at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 8.0% for 2016-2021.
About ExcitePCR
Headquartered in Pleasanton, California, ExcitePCR Corporation is developing portable pathogen detection systems based upon superior sample preparation and realtime PCR (Polymerase Chain Reaction) methodologies. Its FireflyDX™ technologies will deliver rapid automated Point-of-Care/Point-of-Care (POC/PON) sample preparation and highly accurate biohazard identification in a fraction of the time currently possible using existing PCR-based solutions.
About PositiveID Corporation
PositiveID Corporation is a life sciences tools and diagnostics company with an extensive patent portfolio. PositiveID develops biological detection and diagnostics systems, specializing in the development of microfluidic systems for the automated preparation of and performance of biological assays. PositiveID is also a leader in the mobile technology vehicle market, with a focus on the laboratory market and homeland security. For more information on PositiveID, please visit http://www.psidcorp.com, or connect with PositiveID on Twitter, Facebook or LinkedIn.
On August 24, 2017, PositiveID Corporation and its wholly-owned subsidiary PositiveID Diagnostics, Inc. (collectively, the “Seller”), entered into an Asset Purchase Agreement (“APA”) with ExcitePCR Corporation. Pursuant to the APA, at closing, the Seller will sell and deliver to ExcitePCR all assets used in connection with the operation of the FireflyDX technology. For more information on the APA, please read PositiveID’s Form 8-K filed on August 28, 2017, which can be found here.
Statements about PositiveID's future expectations, including the likelihood that the Company projects that a product like ExcitePCR’s FireflyDX could transform the $28 billion global point-of-care diagnostics market; the likelihood that the FireflyDX products will have the ability to overcome the factors that have heretofore limited the widespread POC/PON adoption of PCR-based systems, resulting in significant changes to the industry and a major opportunity; the likelihood that ExcitePCR expects the FireflyDX-Portable will be commercially available in summer 2018; the likelihood that the global POC diagnostics is expected to grow from $19.3 billion in 2016 to $28.3 billion in 2021 at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 8.0% for 2016-2021; 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 complete the development and testing of FireflyDX; the Company’s ability to raise capital; the Company’s ability to commercialize FireflyDX; the Company’s and ExcitePCR’s ability to close the APA; 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 31, 2017, and 10-Qs filed on August 14, 2017, May 15, 2017, and November 18, 2016, 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.