DELRAY BEACH, Fla., July 25, 2012 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- PositiveID Corporation ("PositiveID" or "Company") (OTCBB:PSID), an emerging growth company and developer of sophisticated airborne bio-threat detection systems for America's homeland defense, today announced it has added Dr. Kimothy Smith as Chief Technology Advisor to the Company and its Microfluidic Systems ("MFS") subsidiary. The Company will utilize Dr. Smith's expertise in the areas of biosurveillance, biodefense, biosecurity, molecular genetics and diagnostics, as it prepares for the release of the final request for proposal from the Department of Homeland Security ("DHS") for BioWatch Generation 3, a $3.1 billion procurement for an early warning system designed to detect the intentional release of airborne biological agents. The Company believes its M-BAND system is one of the only technologies capable of addressing the requirements of BioWatch Generation 3.
Dr. Smith has served as a Senior Advisor for International Biodefense for DHS' Office of Health Affairs and was detailed to the U.S. State Department Office of International Health and Biodefense. Prior to this he served as the Acting Director of the National Biosurveillance Integration Center, where he set the vision and strategy of a U.S. government-wide effort to acquire, aggregate, integrate, analyze, interpret and disseminate all-source biosurveillance information from governmental and private sectors for epidemiological analyses and health protection.
Recently Dr. Smith was as a Senior Scientist for the Tahoe Research Initiative LLC, where he worked on global biosurveillance issues to build capacity and capability of public and veterinary health systems. Moreover, he was the Department of Homeland Security's first Chief Veterinarian and served as the Chief Scientist for the Office of Health Affairs. Prior to working with DHS, Dr. Smith worked at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory LLNL, where he served as the Deputy Division Leader for Operations in the Counter-terrorism and Incident Response Division of the Non-proliferation, Arms Control and International Security Directorate. In this capacity Dr. Smith was responsible for maintenance and readiness of the laboratory's nuclear response deployment and assessment teams. He earned his Ph.D. in molecular epidemiology from Louisiana State University (1999) where he curated the worldwide Bacillus anthracis collection.
William J. Caragol, Chairman and CEO of PositiveID, said, "We believe that Kimothy's deep knowledge and experience in bioterrorism and biodefense strengthens our team as we move toward this important program."
The Company's M-BAND system was recently featured in a Bloomberg Businessweek article on the BioWatch procurement by DHS and can be read at:
http://www.businessweek.com/articles/2012-06-21/the-sky-high-price-of-sniffing-out-anthrax.
About PositiveID Corporation
PositiveID Corporation is an emerging growth company and developer of advanced technologies for diabetes management and rapid medical testing, as well as airborne bio-threat detection systems for America's homeland defense. Its wholly-owned subsidiary, Microfluidic Systems, or MFS, is focused on the development of microfluidic systems for the automated preparation of and performance of biological assays in order to detect biological threats at high-value locations, as well as analyze samples in a medical environment.
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For more information on PositiveID, please visit http://www.PositiveIDCorp.com.
Statements about PositiveID's future expectations, including the likelihood that the Company will utilize Dr. Smith's expertise in the areas of biosurveillance, biodefense, biosecurity, molecular genetics and diagnostics, as it prepares for the release of the final request for proposal from DHS for BioWatch Generation 3, a $3.1 billion procurement for an early warning system designed to detect the intentional release of airborne biological agents; the likelihood that the Company's M-BAND system is one of the only technologies capable of addressing the requirements of BioWatch Generation 3; the likelihood that Kimothy's deep knowledge and experience in bioterrorism and biodefense strengthens PositiveID's team as it moves toward this important program; 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 its M-BAND system; the likelihood that the Company will participate in the BioWatch program; 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 28, 2012, and 10-Qs filed on May 14, 2012, November 14, 2011, and August 15, 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.