Pressure BioSciences says new PCT-based apps featured at a conference; to impact 2013 sales

Pressure BioSciences (PINK:PBIO), a life science company developing pressure cycling technology, or PCT, said that recent research has shown that PCT-based sample preparation methods have yielded improved quality and efficiency of test results.

PCT is a patented technology platform with multiple applications in the estimated $6 billion life sciences sample preparation market. The technology uses cycles of hydrostatic pressure between ambient and ultra-high levels to control bio-molecular interactions. 

"The use and advantages of PCT-based sample preparation methods were highlighted in studies of cancer, stem cell, and heart diseases samples," the South Easton, Massachusetts-based company said in statement on Tuesday. 

These results were highligted in data submitted by three separate research groups to a conference on protein research technologies held in Baltimore, Maryland, on March 10-13. 

The studies were conducted by scientists from ETH Zurich and the University of Zurich; from the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and the National Institutes of Health (NIH); and from Johns Hopkins University, Louisiana State University, and Wake Forest University Schools of Medicine, according to the statement.

"We are very pleased that such highly respected protein scientists recognize the advantages of PCT in their work," the statement said, citing Dr. Nate Lawrence, Pressure BioSciences's VP of sales and marketing. 

Lawrence said the use of PCT to prepare stem cells for analysis opens up a new field for the company, "one in which we believe a focused marketing effort will result in increased PCT instrument sales in the short term."

He added that he believed the data on enhanced protein recovery from FFPE samples support the continued development of the company's PCT-based FFPE extraction system, which it expects to release later this year. "We expect to have a positive impact on sales in 2013 and beyond," the statement quoted Lawrence as saying.

Shares of Pressure BioSciences, with a market capitalization of $3.6 million, jumped as much as 4.7 percent to 30.4 cents before market closing on Tuesday. The stock has gained 52 percent so far this year.

Founded in 1978, Pressure BioSciences is focused on the development, marketing, and sale of proprietary laboratory instrumentation and associated consumables based on PCT. 

It currently focuses its efforts on the development and sale of PCT-enhanced sample preparation systems for mass spectrometry, biomarker discovery, bio-therapeutics characterization, vaccine development, soil and plant biology, forensics, histology, and counter-bioterror applications.