PositiveID Provides Mid-Year Update and Highlights Its Progress With Firefly Dx Development
Firefly Dx Prototype System is Consistently Performing PCR and Accurately Detecting Pathogens in Less Than 20 Minutes
PositiveID Corporation
1 minute ago
GlobeNewswire
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DELRAY BEACH, Fla., June 29, 2015 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- PositiveID Corporation (“PositiveID” or “Company”) (PSID), a developer of biological detection and diagnostics solutions, provided a mid-year update today to its shareholders and highlighted its progress with the testing of the Firefly Dx prototype PCR (polymerase chain reaction) pathogen detection system.
Mid-Year 2015 Highlights
Completed the design of the second-phase (bench-top) prototype of Firefly Dx, and commenced building the second-phase prototype of Firefly Dx
Prepared additional M-BAND (Microfluidic Bioagent Autonomous Network Detector) systems for field deployment and testing
Completed the build of its Firefly Dx PCR chip, and started testing assays to prove the design of achieving PCR results in less than 20 minutes
Filed two U.S. patents for Firefly Dx: "A Cyclical and Continuous Flow PCR Device," which covers a cyclical mechanism of thermal cycling required to complete real-time PCR and deliver results in less than 20 minutes, and "A Cyclical PCR Device with Reusable Heat Zones"
Detected multiple organisms with a multiplex assay designed to simultaneously test for up to four pathogens on the Firefly Dx PCR chip
Successfully detected influenza, which is an RNA virus and requires a reverse transcription step to create cDNA prior to PCR being performed, on its Firefly Dx prototype system
Entered a co-marketing agreement with DirectView Security Systems, Inc., a provider of video surveillance systems including body worn cameras, to jointly market the companies' products to homeland security and first responders
Successfully tested 12 different assays, both its own and third-party assays, on Firefly Dx prototype system, detecting all the pathogens it tested
Issued revenue guidance of $3-6 million for 2015
Successfully completed testing of M-BAND under the Department of Defense JUPITR program
Continued progress under the Phase I SenseNet contract under the Department of Homeland Security
"As we reach the middle of 2015, we are very pleased with the advancements we’ve made to our Firefly Dx prototype system, and we will continue to expand our testing and challenge the system to present data to potential partners and future customers," stated William J. Caragol, Chairman and CEO of PositiveID. “We believe that our accomplishments in the first half of 2015 set up PositiveID for continued exciting developments through the end of 2015 and into 2016 and are affirming our revenue guidance of $3-6 million for 2015.”
Firefly Dx is designed to provide real-time, accurate diagnostic results in a handheld device, thereby leading to treatment scenarios at the point of need that are not possible with existing systems, which require lab-based equipment and can take hours or even days to provide results. Firefly's applications include point-of-need, lab-quality, detection of pathogenic organisms; agricultural screening in both domestic sectors and developing countries; and detection of biological agents associated with weapons of mass destruction.
Firefly Dx is targeting the global PCR market, which is projected to reach approximately $27.4 billion this year, according to a Research and Markets' report Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR) - Products/Tools - A Global Market Watch, 2
