DELRAY BEACH, Fla., Sept. 06, 2017 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- PositiveID Corporation’s (OTCQB:PSID) ExcitePCR subsidiary today announced that its President, CEO, and Founder Lyle L. Probst, has been invited to join a prestigious three-member BioWatch panel discussion in September about current and future advancements in pathogen detection systems hosted by the National Academies of Science, Engineering and Medicine (NAS).
The panel discussion (officially titled: “Novel Technologies to Expand Capabilities”) will be held from 3:30—4:30 p.m. (ET) on Monday, September 18, 2017 at the Fred Kavli Auditorium at the NAS headquarters at 500 Fifth Street NW in Washington, D.C. This panel is part of a two-day NAS workshop on Strategies for Effective Biological Detection Systems, and it will be led and moderated by bioinformatics expert, Tom Slezak, Distinguished Member of the Technical Staff at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, and Program Leader, Informatics for LLNL.
“Tom’s team at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory is on the cutting edge of identifying virulence signatures, antibiotic resistance, evidence of genetic engineering, and biohazard detection solutions,” Probst said. “So it’s a great honor to be invited to join him and my fellow panelists as we address the current and future state of pathogen detection systems during this National Academy of Sciences workshop.”
For over 17 years, Probst has been on the forefront of government- and business-led efforts to improve the ability to quickly and accurately identify harmful biological agents, including his roles as a Biomedical Scientist/Project Manager at LLNL, as Vice President of Operations & Business Development for Microfluidic Systems, as President of PositiveID, and most recently, as CEO of ExcitePCR. In fact, it was his efforts at Microfluidic and PositiveID that led to the successful development of the M-BAND system for airborne pathogen detection under a seven-year contract with the U.S. Department of Homeland Security.
ExcitePCR is currently developing the FireflyDX™ family of portable pathogen detection systems. Last week ExcitePCR announced the FireflyDX-Portable™, 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.
For more information about NAS, its upcoming two-day workshop, or its BioWatch panel discussion, please contact the National Academies of Science, Engineering and Medicine at 202-334-2000.
About PositiveID Corporation
PositiveID Corporation is a holding company focused on life sciences, diagnostics, mobile laboratories, and medical devices. PositiveID’s ExcitePCR subsidiary is developing the FireflyDX family of pathogen detection systems, portable devices offering rapid sample-to-result detection in less than 30 minutes using real-time polymerase chain reaction chemistry. PositiveID’s E-N-G Mobile Systems™ subsidiary is a leader in the mobile technology vehicle market, with a focus on the laboratory market and homeland security. PositiveID’s Thermomedics™ subsidiary markets the FDA-cleared Caregiver® non-contact thermometer for clinical use. 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 ExcitePCR is currently developing the FireflyDX family of portable pathogen detection systems; the likelihood that the 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; the likelihood that the FireflyDX-Portable will be commercially available in summer 2018; the likelihood that 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; 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, ExcitePCR’s ability to complete a financing of at least $3 million; PositiveID’s and ExcitePCR’s ability to close the asset purchase agreement among PositiveID, PositiveID Diagnostics, and ExcitePCR; PositiveID’s ability to attract new customers and partners; PositiveID’s ability to raise capital; ExcitePCR’s ability to complete the development and commercialization of the FireflyDX-Portable and FireflyDX-Handheld; 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.