WEST BRIDGEWATER, Mass., June 20 /PRNewswire/ -- Boston Biomedica, Inc. (Nasdaq: BBII) announced today that their contract with the American Red Cross for quality control products has been renewed for the next 12 months. In May 1999 BBI and the Red Cross entered into a one-year agreement, with two one- year option renewals, for BBI to provide Accurun(R) and Accuchart(TM) quality control products for use in Red Cross National Testing Laboratories' (NTLs) quality control programs nationwide. This announcement reflects the first renewal of the Red Cross's option. The American Red Cross currently collects more than 6 million blood donations each year and supplies nearly half of all blood and blood products to hospitals throughout the United States.
The Accurun and Accuchart quality control products from BBI are used by the Red Cross to help ensure the accuracy and reliability of test results generated in the routine screening of blood for a number of infectious diseases including HIV/AIDS, Hepatitis B and Hepatitis C. Under the agreement, BBI develops, manufactures and distributes custom Accurun quality control products for use in the eight Red Cross NTLs, as well as for the National Confirmatory Testing Laboratory in Gaithersburg, Md. Each unit of blood is tested for eight different infectious disease markers using a number of different test kits and systems; BBI's quality control products are used to help ensure the tests are working as intended.
"We are very pleased with the results from this first year of our relationship with BBI," said Richard C. Platte, Vice President, American Red Cross National Testing and Reference Laboratories. "The American Red Cross is committed to providing the nation with the safest blood supply possible. BBI's Accurun and Accuchart products are playing an important role in helping us achieve this goal."
"We achieved record Accurun sales in Q1 2000," said Kevin W. Quinlan, President and Chief Operating Officer of BBI. "The American Red Cross played a significant role in this milestone, with record purchases in Q1 2000, as compared to previous quarters under the agreement. We are optimistic that sales of Accurun and our other quality control products will continue to increase as the Red Cross and other customers gain further recognition of their value in ensuring high quality test results."
BBI Diagnostics is a leading supplier of quality control products to blood banks and diagnostic laboratories worldwide. In the U.S., in addition to the Red Cross, numerous other blood banks currently utilize Accurun and Accuchart in their QC programs. Internationally, BBI provides QC products to Red Cross Centers in Switzerland, Germany, and Italy as well as to a number of non-Red Cross blood banks throughout Europe, Scandinavia and the Pacific Rim.
Boston Biomedica, Inc. is an infectious diseases management company providing products and services for the detection and treatment of infectious diseases (ID) such as AIDS, Lyme Disease, and Viral Hepatitis. The Company has four business units: (1) BBI Diagnostics, an ISO 9001 certified manufacturer and seller of quality control and other diagnostic products used to increase the accuracy of in-vitro diagnostic tests, (2) BBI Clinical Laboratories, a leading specialty infectious diseases testing laboratory, (3) BBI Biotech Research Laboratories, providing R&D support for the other BBI business units as well as contract research services for third parties, and (4) BBI Source Scientific, an ISO 9001 certified manufacturer of laboratory and diagnostic instrumentation. In addition, the Company is pursuing research and development programs in the areas of Pressure Cycling Technology (PCT) and drug discovery (Panacos Pharmaceuticals), with the goal of introducing new solutions for the detection and treatment of infectious diseases.
Statements contained in this news release that state the Company's or management's intentions, hopes, beliefs, expectations or predictions of the future are "forward-looking" statements. It is important to note that the Company's actual results could differ materially from those projected in such forward-looking statements. Factors that could cause actual results to differ from those projected include the possibility that the American Red Cross may not purchase all of the Accurun and Accuchart products called for in the contract, or that the remaining one-year option may not be exercised. Additional information concerning factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those in the forward-looking statements is contained from time to time in the Company's SEC filings, including but not limited to the Company's report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 1999 and on Form 10-Q for the period ended March 31, 2000. Copies of these documents may be obtained by contacting the Company or the SEC.
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SOURCE Boston Biomedica, Inc.
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CONTACT: Richard T. Schumacher, CEO & Chairman or Kevin W. Quinlan, President & COO, or William R. Prather, MD, Sr. VP Finance & Business Dvlp., all of Boston Biomedica, Inc., 508-580-1900, or Sarah Evers, External Communication Manager of American Red Cross, 703-312-5535
