Pressure
BioSciences PCT Platform at
Forefront in Generating
Pivotal
Findings
by
Diverse
COVID-19 Research Teams in USA, China,
and Europe
PCT's Effectiveness and Reproducibility Impacts
Research
Results
and
Fills
Critical Role in Achieving Important
Insights for the Development of
New
and
Improved
COVID-19
Diagnostics and
Therapeutics
South
Easton, MA, December
17, 2020 --
InvestorsHub NewsWire -- Pressure BioSciences, Inc. (OTCQB:
PBIO) ("PBI" or the "Company"), a leader in the
development and sale of broadly enabling, pressure-based
instruments, consumables, and platform technology solutions
to the
worldwide
biotechnology,
biotherapeutics, cosmetics,
nutraceuticals,
and
food
&
beverage
industries,
today announced
a
remarkable convergence of global research teams announcing pivotal
new insights into COVID-19
biology and disease processes. These
data point to potential
new pathways to next generation
diagnostics and
treatments. All teams
selected
PBI's
Pressure Cycling Technology ("PCT")
platform
for their critical sample preparation steps, to help ensure
that the
greatest abundance and diversity of reproducible results would be
revealed in the thousands of proteins
involved in the
affected
biochemical pathways.
The year
2020 will be
forever
remembered for
the
outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic, wreaking a devastating swath of
death, damaged lives, and economic
destruction globally.
Legions of workers in healthcare and essential services have
heroically stood up for this challenge. Thousands of
scientists worldwide
mobilized
into a juggernaut seeking out the unique differences and clues in
the SARS-CoV-2 virus and probing
for
their interaction with the
complexities of diverse human responses to infection, to illuminate
potent insights into the development
of more effective
diagnosis, assessment,
and
treatment. While the first
batches of vaccine from several manufacturers are now being
shipped, the battle against COVID-19 is far from over. The
SARS-CoV-2 virus is a highly variable and rapidly evolving
pathogen. It is still not known how long immunity
lasts after vaccination.
Moreover, as the pandemic continues, initial drugs and
vaccines
could become less effective against mutated viral
strains, as
they
appear. It is
important that
scientists continue
to monitor and study
the virus, to ensure that the
arsenal of therapeutics, vaccines, and diagnostics being
used to fight this
pathogen remain highly effective.
Dr.
Alexander
V. Lazarev, Chief Science Officer of PBI, said:
"The
compelling history of scientists
worldwide
publishing on PBI's PCT-based Barocycler
system has resulted in
its establishment
as the
method of
choice for
many
teams
who
recognize
that
no
compromise can be allowed
in
the critical
stage
of sample
preparation
as they
work to ensure that the
most
complete,
informative, robust and reproducible data
are
captured. Recent
publications and reports from three independent
laboratories
located on three
different
continents
highlighted the importance of PBI's highly
effective
and reproducible PCT sample
preparation platform
in
studies designed to generate
a
more
thorough understanding of the
SARS-CoV-2 biology,
etiology, and human response to
infection.
Georgetown
University (Washington
DC, U.S.)
A
recent
publication from the scientific
team
at
the
Clinical and Translational Glycoscience
Research
Center (glycomics.georgetown.edu) at Georgetown University
headed by Associate
Professor
Miloslav
Sanda, Ph.D. highlighted
the use
of the PCT
Barocycler
EXT
sample
preparation system
in
preparing SARS-CoV-2 glycoprotein samples for
analysis.
Prof.
Radoslav
Goldman,
senior author on the publication, said: "Development of
effective antiviral therapies and vaccines
requires detailed
characterization of the SARS-CoV-2 proteins. The SARS-CoV-2 spike
protein controls
binding
of
the virus
to human
cells; consequently,
it is
a
prime
immunization and
biotherapeutic target.
Our study
substantially expands current knowledge of the spike protein's
glycosylation, which has
significant influence on viral
activation and infectivity. We believe that
our
data will
help
in
the development
of better vaccines and
therapies against this devastating disease."
Westlake
University (Hangzhou, China)
A recent
publication from the scientific team at Westlake University headed
by Dr. Tiannan Guo, M.D., Ph.D., in collaboration with multiple
clinical centers throughout China, discussed findings regarding the
impact of COVID-19
infection
on protein expression and biochemical processes in
the
multi-organ
injuries
experienced by COVID-19
patients.
Dr. Guo,
lead study
author,
commented: "We used multiple Barocycler
instruments in preparing 144
tissue samples from seven organs obtained during autopsies of 19
COVID-19 patients. We compared the results to 74 control
samples from 56 non-COVID-19 cases. Our team characterized 11,394
proteins, of which over 5,000 proteins were clearly
different in COVID-19
patients compared to
controls. We believe our study
findings offer important new insights on potential
therapies."
Steinbeis
Centre (Russelsheim,
Germany)
Professor
Michael
Przybylski, director of the Steinbeis Centre for
Biopolymer Analysis & Biomedical Mass
Spectrometry, heads a research
project in collaboration with University Clinics in Darmstadt
and
Klinikum Giessen, Germany
targeting
the
identification of
epitopes, the
specific
regions of pathogen
proteins
that are
recognized by antibodies
formed
in
patients who are infected with
SARS-CoV-2.
Professor
Przybylski said: "Understanding which antibodies are capable of
neutralizing the SARS-CoV-2
virus is
crucial for the
development of
effective vaccines and anti-viral
therapeutics.
Characterization of antibody-binding
epitopes
has historically
been
performed by indirect methods, e.g., computer-based prediction
algorithms. Our team is
using
a
combination of high-pressure treatment in
a PCT
Barocycler system,
followed by selection of strongly bound antibody fragments by a
technique called Surface Plasmon Resonance.
Finally,
identification is then done
by mass
spectrometry. As a result, we are able to directly identify
antibody regions involved in
the
capture
and neutralization of the
viral
pathogen. We believe this
novel method
-
in which
PBI's PCT Barocycler protein
digestion system plays a
critical role - will be instrumental
in the
future
development of
new,
more
efficient vaccines and biotherapeutics,
as well as more sensitive and
specific diagnostic
tests for
COVID-19 disease."
Mr.
Richard T. Schumacher, President and CEO of PBI, summed up
the
findings of the three research groups: "We congratulate the
scientists at Georgetown, West Lake, and the Steinbeis Centre for
their terrific work in elucidating
the
protein
structure
of the SARS-CoV-2 virus, especially the critical spike
protein; in
highlighting
disease processes of
COVID-19
within
multiple
organs in infected
patients;
and for
the
identification of
antibody regions involved in the capture and neutralization
of SARS-CoV-2 virus.
This information is critical to the
design
and development of future vaccines, drugs, and
diagnostics. The more we know
about the
SARS-CoV-2 virus, and other potential pathogen
threats,
the better prepared we will be to prevent future
outbreaks/pandemics. Our team is very
proud that
the
PCT
platform played an
important role in this
work.
We look forward
to bringing the
significant capabilities of the PCT platform to many
additional academic,
government, and industry scientists working
on
COVID-19 and future biological threats."
About
the Life Sciences Investor Forum
The
Life
Sciences
Investor
Forum
is a
live, interactive investor event held quarterly for public and
private companies, investors, and industry professionals from
around the world. This day-long, virtual event will showcase live
company presentations and interactive discussions focused on the
life sciences industry. PBI's President and CEO, Mr. Richard T.
Schumacher, is scheduled to
present at 11am
ET.
DATE: Thursday,
December 17, 2020
TIME:
11am ET
LINK:
https://bit.ly/3mPSVkO
About
Pressure
BioSciences,
Inc.
Pressure
BioSciences,
Inc.
(OTCQB:
PBIO)
is
a
leader
in
the
development
and
sale
of
innovative,
broadly
enabling,
pressure-based
solutions
for
the
worldwide
life
sciences
and
other
industries.
Our
products
are
based
on
the
unique
properties
of
both
constant
(i.e.,
static)
and
alternating
(i.e.,
pressure
cycling
technology,
or
PCT)
hydrostatic
pressure.
PCT
is a
patented
enabling
technology
platform
that
uses
alternating
cycles
of hydrostatic
pressure
between
ambient
and
ultra-high
levels
to safely
and
reproducibly
control
bio-molecular
interactions
(e.g.,
cell
lysis,
biomolecule
extraction).
Our
primary
focus
is
in
the
development
of PCT-based
products
for
biomarker
and
target
discovery,
drug
design
and
development,
biotherapeutics
characterization
and
quality
control,
soil
&
plant
biology,
forensics,
and
counter-bioterror
applications.
Additionally,
major
new
market
opportunities
have
emerged
in
the
use
of
our
pressure-based
technologies
in
the
following
areas:
(1)
the
use
of our
recently
acquired,
patented
technology
from
BaroFold,
Inc.
(the
"BaroFold"
technology)
to
allow
entry
into
the
bio-pharma
contract
services
sector,
and
(2)
the
use
of our
recently-patented,
scalable,
high-efficiency,
pressure-based
Ultra
Shear
Technology
("UST")
platform
to
(i)
create
stable
nanoemulsions
of otherwise
immiscible
fluids
(e.g.,
oils
and
water)
and
to
(ii)
prepare
higher
quality,
homogenized,
extended
shelf-life
or room
temperature
stable
low-acid
liquid
foods
that
cannot
be
effectively
preserved
using
existing
non-thermal
technologies.
Forward
Looking
Statements
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press
release
contains
forward-looking
statements.
These
statements
relate
to future
events
or
our
future
financial
performance
and
involve
known
and
unknown
risks,
uncertainties
and
other
factors
that
may
cause
our
or
our
industry's
actual
results,
levels
of
activity,
performance,
or
achievements
to
be
materially
different
from
any
future
results,
levels
of activity,
performance
or
achievements
expressed,
implied
or inferred
by these
forward-looking
statements.
In some
cases,
you can
identify
forward-looking
statements
by
terminology
such
as
"may,"
"will,"
"should,"
"could,"
"would,"
"expects,"
"plans,"
"intends,"
"anticipates,"
"believes,"
estimates,"
"predicts,"
"projects,"
"potential"
or "continue"
or the
negative
of
such
terms
and
other
comparable
terminology.
These
statements
are
only
predictions
based
on
our
current
expectations
and projections
about
future
events.
You
should
not
place
undue
reliance
on
these
statements.
In evaluating
these
statements,
you
should
specifically
consider
various
factors.
Actual
events
or results
may
differ
materially.
These
and
other
factors
may cause
our actual
results
to
differ
materially
from
any
forward-looking
statement.
These
risks,
uncertainties,
and
other
factors
include,
but
are
not
limited
to,
the
risks
and
uncertainties
discussed
under
the
heading
"Risk
Factors"
in
the
Company's
Annual
Report
on
Form
10-K
for
the
year
ended
December
31,
2019,
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.
For
more
information
about
PBI
and
this
press
release,
please
click
on
the following
website
link:
http://www.pressurebiosciences.com
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