CITY OF INDUSTRY, Calif., Feb. 16, 2005 (PRIMEZONE) -- U.S. BioDefense, Inc. (OTCBB:UBDE) is pleased to announce today that the company has retained the consulting services of Shannon S. Eaker, Ph.D., presently at the Los Alamos National Laboratory, to assist in the development of its NIH SBIR Grant proposal related to the creation of a Stem Cell Research Center of Excellence.
Dr. Shannon S. Eaker received his Ph.D. from the Department of Biochemistry and Cellular and Molecular Biology at the University of Tennessee. Dr. Eaker has two Provisional Patent Applications in the area of conditionally-immortalized hematopoietic progenitor cell populations and nucleic acid probes for detecting the human coronavirus, the human rhinovirus, the human adenovirus, and severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) coronavirus. Dr. Eaker is a specialist in embryonic, adult and germ cell isolation and culture, as well is in microarray development and flow cytometry.
CEO, David Chin stated, "We are aggressively seeking and hereby invite inquiries from new collaborative industry consultants and partners including stem cell biologists, researchers and clinicians with disease-specific expertise, physicians and surgeons skilled in novel modes of cell delivery, and investigators experienced in developing and assessing animal models of human diseases to create a new research team in California. We plan to have the qualified Letter of Intent submitted by the February 24th deadline to proceed with the NIH government grant due March 24th, 2005. We are now in discussions with prominent Southern California Doctors, researchers, and educational collaborators at hospitals, universities, foundations and private enterprise in order to study the feasibility of founding a Stem Cell Research Center for the rapid development of Stem Cell technology."
The company will file a Letter of Intent for Grant Funding and follow on proposal in response to an RFA: 'Center of Excellence in Translational Human Stem Cell Research' with the National Institutes of Health. NIH components participating organizations include the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (NINDS), National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases (NIDDK), National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI). The NIH intends to commit up to $4.5 million dollars in FY 2005 to fund three new Centers of Excellence in Translational Human Stem Cell Research.
About U.S. BioDefense, Inc.
U.S. BioDefense is a Department of Defense central contractor that researches, develops, and commercializes leading-edge biotechnology. U.S. BioDefense recently announced a new stem cell separation and insertion technology license agreement with a major University. It has filed its Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Grant proposal Number C051-117-0060 with the Department of Defense Chemical Biological Defense Agency in response to SBIR (dodsbir.net) Topic number CBD05-117 'Stem Cell Technology and Autologous Bioengineered Skin for the Treatment of Cutaneous Vesicant Injury'.
U.S. BioDefense, Inc. recently entered into a Commercial Evaluation License Agreement with the National Institutes of Health (NIH). The biotechnology is related to a method for universal inactivation of viruses, parasites and tumor cells. These inactivated agents can be used as vaccines against the diseases caused by such viruses, parasites and tumor cells. The National Institutes of Health Biodefense budget for Fiscal Year 2005 is over $1.7 Billion. The company has published its white paper on Stem Cell technology transfer analyzing California University and industry participants intellectual property resources including ViaCell (Nasdaq:IAC), Geron (Nasdaq: GERN), Aastrom Biosciences (Nasdaq: ASTM), and StemCells, Inc. (Nasdaq:STEM).
Safe Harbor Statement Forward-Looking Statements
Included in this release are certain "forward-looking'' statements, involving risks and uncertainties, which are covered by the safe harbor provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995, including statements regarding the Company's financial performance. Such statements are based on management's current expectations and are subject to certain factors, risks and uncertainties that may cause actual results, events and performance to differ materially from those referred to or implied by such statements. In addition, actual future results may differ materially from those anticipated, depending on a variety of factors, including continued maintenance of favorable license arrangements, success of market research identifying new product opportunities, successful introduction of new products, continued product innovation, the success of enhancements to the Company's brand image, sales and earnings growth, ability to attract and retain key personnel, and general economic conditions affecting consumer spending, including uncertainties relating to global political conditions, such as terrorism. Information with respect to important factors that should be considered is contained in the Company's Annual Report on Form 10-K as filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements, which speak only as of the date hereof. The Company does not intend to update any of the forward-looking statements after the date of this release to conform these statements to actual results or to changes in its expectations, except as may be required by law.