SOUTH EASTON, Mass., Aug. 14 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Pressure BioSciences, Inc. (Nasdaq: PBIO) today announced that total revenue for the second quarter of 2008 was $120,184 compared to $202,127 for the comparable period in the prior year. Revenue from the sale of PCT products and services was $117,698 for the three months ended June 30, 2008 as compared to $136,355 for the prior year period. During the second quarter of 2008, we completed the installation of seven Barocycler instruments at customer locations, as compared to four in the same period of 2007. This decrease in revenue, despite an increase in the number of installations, was primarily due to a shift in the type of instrument installed: three of the seven installations in the second quarter of 2008 were the less expensive NEP2320, whereas all four installations in the second quarter of 2007 were the more expensive NEP3229. Also contributing to the decrease in revenue, despite an increase in the number of installations, was the fact that two of our seven installations in the second quarter of 2008 were completed under short-term rental agreements. These agreements have a minimal impact on current period revenue but provide a revenue stream over the course of the respective agreements in the form of monthly rental payments and purchases of our consumable products.
Edward H. Myles, Senior Vice President of Finance and CFO, said: "Although the seven installations of Pressure Cycling Technology ("PCT") Sample Preparation Systems ("PCT Systems") in the second quarter of 2008 were significantly higher than the four PCT Systems installed in the same period in 2007, we had hoped to have installed more. That being said, we are very encouraged by the fact that we have already recorded nine installations in Q3 through August 14th. Furthermore, we expect to install at least five more PCT Systems before the end of the third quarter. Based on the number of high potential ("Type A") leads in our sales pipeline, we now expect to install 40 or more PCT Sample Preparation Systems during 2008, as compared to the 20 that we installed during 2007."
Time: 4:30 p.m. Eastern Time (ET)
Mr. Myles continued: "In addition to continuing the expansion of our installed base of PCT Systems, we have also implemented a number of cost reduction initiatives, including the delay of certain research and development projects, reduction in travel and meeting attendance for all personnel, continued reduction in investor relations activities, decreases in the base salary of most of our employees and all of our executive officers, decrease in annual cash compensation for all outside Board members, and a reduction in our workforce that included the re-alignment of our domestic sales force from seven full time sales directors to three. We ended the second quarter with approximately $2.8 million in cash and cash equivalents. We believe that this amount of cash, together with the cost reduction measures, will allow us to reach a manageable balance between the need to conserve our cash resources and the need to support our short-term commercialization plans. We have also engaged Emerging Growth Equities of King of Prussia, PA to help us raise additional capital to fund our further development and commercialization of PCT."
During the past four months, the Company has reported successes and measurable progress in a number of important areas. These include, but are not limited to:
-- The award of a $850,000 NIH SBIR Phase II Grant for the development of a new PCT-dependent system for improved biomarker discovery, diagnostics, and drug discovery
-- Presentations by independent researchers at key scientific conferences citing the use of PCT for improving the detection, speed, and quality of protein analysis
-- The market release by the Company of several new and important PCT-based products and applications, including the use of PCT to significantly enhance (hours to minutes) the important trypsin digestion phase required prior to protein identification by mass spectrometry
Richard T. Schumacher, Founder, President, and CEO of Pressure BioSciences, Inc. commented: "It has been said that gaining market acceptance for any new, cutting-edge technology always takes longer and is far more difficult than one would ever expect. PCT has been no exception. Although we believe that in many cases PCT offers greater safety, speed, reproducibility, convenience, and quality than other sample preparation methods, it has been difficult, thus far, to generate the level of interest we believe this technology will ultimately gain. However, I am pleased to report that interest in PCT and the PCT Sample Preparation System has grown steadily over the past two months. During this period, we have received significantly more requests for product information and on-site demonstrations, and have added significantly more Type A leads to our sales pipeline, than during any other comparable two month period since we initiated our commercialization plans in early 2007. This increased interest in our PCT product line has already manifested itself in record installations for a quarter, and we are not even halfway through August. This is certainly an exciting time for all stakeholders in Pressure BioSciences."
About Pressure BioSciences, Inc.
Pressure BioSciences, Inc. (PBI) is a publicly traded company focused on the development of a novel, enabling, platform technology called Pressure Cycling Technology (PCT). PCT uses cycles of hydrostatic pressure between ambient and ultra-high levels (up to 35,000 psi and greater) to control bio-molecular interactions. PBI currently holds 13 US and 5 foreign patents covering multiple applications of PCT in the life sciences field, including such areas as genomic and proteomic sample preparation, pathogen inactivation, the control of chemical reactions (particularly enzymes), immunodiagnostics, and protein purification.
Forward-Looking Statements
Statements contained in this press release regarding the Company's intentions, hopes, beliefs, expectations, or predictions of the future are "forward-looking'' statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These statements include the use of the PCT SPS by the Brooklyn Hospital Center and the NYU School of Medicine, the results of their studies having been presented at the Annual Scientific Meeting of the American College of Gastroenterology. These statements are based upon the Company's current expectations, forecasts, and assumptions that are subject to risks, uncertainties, and other factors that could cause actual outcomes and results to differ materially from those indicated by these forward-looking statements. These risks, uncertainties, and other factors include, but are not limited to: unforeseen technological difficulties that the Company may encounter in the development of the PCT technology and the PCT Sample Preparation System; the possibility that other laboratories may be unable to duplicate the results generated by Dr. Momeni and her colleagues; the possibility that the data generated may not be beneficial in the development of new therapeutics and diagnostics for colon cancer; that due to competitive products, services, and technological advances, PCT may not be the preferred method of sample preparation by other scientists and laboratories; and the other risks and uncertainties discussed under the heading "Risk Factors" in the Company's Annual Report on Form 10-KSB for the year ended December 31, 2006, and other reports filed by the Company from time to time with the SEC. The Company undertakes no obligation to update any of the information included in this release, except as otherwise required by law.
Visit us at our website http://www.pressurebiosciences.com
CONTACT:
Pressure BioSciences, Inc.
Investor Contacts:
Richard T. Schumacher, President & CEO
Edward H. Myles, Sr. Vice President of Finance & CFO
(508) 580-1818