REDONDO BEACH, CA / ACCESSWIRE / February 18, 2016 / Pressure BioSciences, Inc. (OTCQB: PBIO), a developer of proprietary laboratory instrumentation and associated consumables based on its game-changing Pressure Cycling Technology ("PCT") platform, recently announced an exclusive co-marketing deal with SCIEX, a wholly-owned subsidiary of the $60B Danaher Corporation (NYSE: DHR), and a global leader in life science analytical technologies. SCIEX and PBIO plan to jointly promote PBIO's PCT-based sample preparation systems and SCIEX's top-of-the-line mass spectrometry equipment to generate superior insights for the life sciences industry, particularly in the proteomics (protein) discovery field.
With initial orders from this agreement already coming in the door, the company appears well positioned to grow its revenue and recurring cash flow over time. Management's plans to up-list from the OTC Markets to the NASDAQ or NYSE exchange during the first half of this year could help bring retail and institutional investor attention to the stock at the same time. Institutional investor support, something the company has been without since its inception, could create a significant and compelling catalyst for all investors.
Fast Initial Sales
SCIEX recently announced an alliance with Children's Medical Research Institute ("CMRI") to equip The Australian Cancer Research Foundation International Centre for the Proteome of Cancer ("ProCan™") facility with state-of-the-art protein profiling instruments and other tools and solutions required for the advancement of their large-scale proteomic profiling studies. The studies will profile thousands of tumor samples per year, enable discoveries around the causes of cancer, provide guidance on cancer treatment options, and work to produce standard operating procedures in cancer testing worldwide.
With the co-marketing agreement in place, ProCan™ will access Pressure Bio's PCT-based technology for increased protein quantitation and reproducibility. The exact terms of the deal weren't disclosed, but the agreement could generate the first major sale of PCT technology as a part of the co-marketing agreement just weeks after it was put into place. With both upfront investment in the company's proprietary instruments and ongoing disposable purchases in the tens of thousands of units, the company's PCT product line generates attractive recurring revenue for shareholders, at historically excellent gross margins.
Pressure Bio's PCT platform maximizes proteome coverage in samples, particularly when dealing with the small tissue biopsies associated with clinical tumor samples. In the past, these small sizes limited the use of mass spectrometry-based proteomics in clinical research. However, the addition of PBIO's PCT platform to SCIEX's SWATH mass spectrometry system (PCT-SWATH) will enable these researchers to use very small amounts of tissue, accurately process them in a couple of hours, and generate large amounts of actionable data that was not attainable before by mass spectrometry. With increased depth and reliability, researchers may be able to significantly expand their knowledgebase in these critical areas of cancer research.
Setting the Stage
The CMRI alliance clearly illustrates the SCIEX co-marketing agreement's enormous potential to expand PBI's sales over time. In just a few weeks, the company has already generated orders and significant press coverage that it has struggled to achieve in the past. SCIEX's team of sales and marketing personnel and worldwide distribution network has created a virtual sales force for the company's products without the heavy costs associated with building and running such a worldwide sales and marketing team.
CMRI is also likely to be just the start of something much bigger. In a January 12th SCIEX press release, Professor Ruedi Aebersold, Director of the Institute of Molecular Systems Biology at the ETH in Zurich, Switzerland, and a worldwide expert in the field of proteomics, said that PCT-SWATH, "should increase the chance for biomarker discovery, potentially leading to significant improvements in healthcare, including personalized medicine."
The increased attention could also spur competitors like Thermo Fischer Scientific Inc. (NYSE: TMO) and Waters Corporation (NYSE: WAT) to pursue their own agreements with Pressure BioSciences down the road to enhance their own product offerings. Other companies like Qiagen NV (NASDAQ: QGEN) and Agilent Technologies Inc. (NYSE: A) also have an interest in new sample preparation technologies that could benefit their own businesses. With a modest market cap of $7 million, the company could become a buyout target in some of these cases.
Upcoming Catalysts
Pressure BioSciences plans to up-list to the NASDAQ or NYSE in the first half of this year, which could significantly expand its visibility in the financial markets. Since many retail and institutional investors aren't permitted or aren't willing to buy over-the-counter securities, the up-list move could open the door to greater liquidity and a wider investment base. The simultaneous increase in revenue and visibility in its customer end-markets could amplify these effects throughout the remainder of the year and into 2017, and ultimately help generate significant value for PBIO shareholders.
Investors in companies like NanoString Technologies (NASDAQ: NSTG), which specializes in genomic sampling technology; NeoGenomics (NASDAQ: NEO), which provides cancer-focused genetic and molecular testing; and Protea Biosciences Group (OTCQB: PRGB), which provides small molecule and tissue analytics services, may want to keep an eye on this unique opportunity.
For more information, visit the company's website at www.pressurebiosciences.com.
Legal Disclaimer:
Except for the historical information presented herein, matters discussed in this release contain forward-looking statements that are subject to certain risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from any future results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by such statements. Emerging Growth LLC is not registered with any financial or securities regulatory authority, and does not provide nor claims to provide investment advice or recommendations to readers of this release.Emerging Growth LLC may from time to time have a position in the securities mentioned herein and may increase or decrease such positions without notice. For making specific investment decisions, readers should seek their own advice. Emerging Growth LLC may be compensated for its services in the form of cash-based compensation or equity securities in the companies it writes about, or a combination of the two. For full disclosure please visit: http://secfilings.com/Disclaimer.aspx.
SOURCE: Emerging Growth LLC
