Pressure BioSciences, (OTCQB: PBIO), a company focused on developing its pressure cycling technology (PCT), says that researchers at Harvard Medical School have published a scientific paper describing a non-invasive method that could potentially screen for multiple diseases by gaining information about the gastrointestinal (GI) system using PCT and certain chemicals.
Shares rocketed more than 11.7 per cent on Thursday, to 38 cents, extending year-to-date gains to 90 per cent.
The method, a description of which was published in the journal Analytical Chemistry by a team of scientists led by Dr. Bruce Kristal, Associate Professor of Surgery at Harvard Medical School, uses the company's technology and certain chemicals to extract intact lipids from fecal material.
The idea is to get as much information as possible about what is happening in the GI system, known as the gut, and its role in health and disease in certain high-risk populations. This could include premature infants, newborns, and the elderly.
The method would analyze the full lipid profile in fecal material. Lipids are a group of naturally occurring molecules, including fats and cholesterol, which are associated with a number of diseases from heart disease to cancer.
Pressure BioSciences said in a release Thursday that new and improved lab tools that allow a better understanding of the gut function could have a significant impact on diagnosing diseases, as well as treating and preventing them. Advances so far have been made in colon cancer, inflammatory bowel disease, and chronic diarrhea, and in disorders such as autism and obesity.
The company also said that the simple method could contribute to lowering the cost of healthcare.
"Using PCT and certain reagents, this method allows scientists to access this information like never before," said CEO Richard Schumacher in emailed comments today, referring to information from the stool obtained with fecal testing, which is accessed through DNA.
In the publication, it was reported that the combination of Pressure BioSciences' patented PCT platform, along with certain chemicals, improved the extraction of lipids from fecal material, opening "the door to the use of fecal lipid profiling for both scientific and clinical applications”.
The report also noted that the method “provides a reproducible, generally applicable, broadbased, and non-invasive technique for establishing gut function in patients regardless of age or disease.”
“We believe this novel method can help determine and assess intestinal function, response to nutrition, inflammation, and even the occurrence and/or progression of disease," said VP of marketing and sales for Pressure BioSciences, Dr. Nate Lawrence.
"We further believe that it could have both diagnostic and prognostic implications on vulnerable and difficult-to-study populations, such as premature infants and the elderly."
The authors of the report, who also proposed the method could be useful in monitoring the GI system in patients with IBS and gastrointestinal cancers, said that to their knowledge, this was the first report of full intact lipid extraction from fecal material followed by LC-MS analysis, a method used widely by researchers around the world in the study of proteins and lipids.
In April, AMI Research said it expects Pressure BioSciences to increase its revenue by 37 per cent this year to $1.6 million, driven by the launch of new products. The company pushed ahead last year with distribution PCT outreach that included an increase in international sales and distribution coverage to over 20 countries.
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