CRUTTENDEN ROTH HEALTHCARE CONFERENCE, NEW YORK, May 20 /PRNewswire/ -- Boston Biomedica, Inc., (Nasdaq: BBII) announced today at the Cruttenden Roth Healthcare Conference in New York that it has made the final installment of its investment in BioSeq, Inc., an early-stage biomedical company dedicated to the development and commercialization of a breakthrough platform technology for the precise control of biomolecular interactions. The current payment of $750,000 brings the total amount of BBI's investment in BioSeq to $1,482,500, and completes the investment portion of an agreement signed between the two companies in October of 1996.
"We are extremely impressed with the quality of data that BioSeq's scientists have generated over the first seven months of our alliance," said Richard T. Schumacher, President & CEO of Boston Biomedica, Inc. "Although we could have waited until the end of the year to make the final payment, we felt strongly that making it earlier would accelerate the development of this most exciting, cutting-edge technology. This could, in turn, enhance BioSeq's already strong patent position."
BioSeq believes that its proprietary technology employs a unique approach to precise regulation of biomolecular processes, and has the potential for broad application in a number of emerging and established industries such as genomics, drug development, immunodiagnostics, and pharmaceutical production. The key breakthrough in BioSeq's enabling technology platform is the ability to switch biomolecular interaction "on" and "off" in a precisely controlled manner and at the single event level. BioSeq believes that its technology, once fully developed, will offer numerous commercial advantages over existing methods for biochemical production and analysis, offering high speed, precision, simplicity of operation and lower cost.
Under the terms of the October 1996 Agreement, in return for the full financial investment, BBI has acquired approximately 19% of BioSeq capital stock, as well as the worldwide right to use the BioSeq technology for DNA sequencing and analysis services.
"We believe that our technology, when more fully developed, will play an important role in measuring, controlling and evaluating biomolecular interactions. Specifically, in the area of DNA diagnostics, we believe our technology may be useful for sequencing and analyzing DNA, which may then allow for the more precise identification of infectious diseases, and enhanced characterization of the human genome," said James Laugharn, President and CEO of BioSeq, Inc.
Boston Biomedica, Inc., is a worldwide manufacturer and provider of proprietary quality control products for use with in vitro diagnostics (IVD) test kits for the detection, analysis and monitoring of infectious diseases, including AIDS, Hepatitis and Lyme Disease. These products are used by clinical and research laboratories, blood banks, IVD manufacturers and regulatory agencies to help ensure the accuracy of infectious disease test results. The Company also manufactures IVD test kit components and provides specialty laboratory testing services.
This release may include forward-looking statements that may or may not materialize. Additional information or factors that could potentially affect BBI's financial results may be found in the Company's filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission.
Factors which might cause actual results to differ materially from those
projected in the forward-looking statements contained herein include the
following: inability of the Company to develop the end-user market for quality
control products; inability of the Company to integrate the business of Source
Scientific, Inc. into the Company's business; inability of Source Scientific,
Inc. to repay the loans made by the Company; inability of BioSeq to develop
its technology to the level of commercial utilization; inability of the
Company to obtain an adequate supply of raw materials necessary for certain of
its products; significant reductions in purchases by any of the Company's
major customers; and the potential insufficiency of Company resources,
including human resources, plant and equipment and management systems, to
accommodate any future growth. These and certain other factors which might
cause actual results to differ materially from those projected are more fully
set forth under the caption "Risk Factors" in the Company's Registration
Statement on Form S-1 (SEC File No.333-10759).
SOURCE Biomedica, Inc.
CONTACT: Richard T. Schumacher, President and CEO of Boston Biomedica, Inc., 508-580-1900 or James A. Laugharn, Jr., President and CEO of BioSeq, Inc., 617-932-3959
