Cellular Prods Inc (fka CELP)

[Del Bocavista III]

Zeptometrix is CELP per M2 presswire release

M2 "Press Wire "

M2 PressWIRE - March 21, 2007 - Rochester, NY -- OTCStockExchange.com's "Mid-Day Stock Watch Alert" this afternoon are 5G Wireless Communications, Inc. (OTCBB: FGWI), Banyan Corporation (OTCBB: BANY), Pegasus Wireless Corporation (OTCBB: PGSW), ZeptoMetrix Corp. (Pink Sheets: CELP).

ZeptoMetrix Corp. (Pink Sheets: CELP - http://finance.yahoo.com/q?s=CELP.PK )

ZeptoMetrix, formerly called Cellular Products, has previously supplied HIV and other infectious agents under CDC contracts. ZeptoMetrix Corp. will produce flu viruses -- including strains of avian influenza or "bird flu" -- under a multimillion-dollar U.S. contract, the Buffalo company is announcing today. The viruses are used by makers of diagnostics to develop tests for dangerous strains. The selection of ZeptoMetrix gives the 30-person company a role in the U.S. effort to prevent a deadly flu outbreak, company officials said. "What we're doing here could help save millions and millions of lives," marketing director Mark Rowland said.

The contract, for an undisclosed sum, comes from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the Department of Health and Human Services. The company expects to grow at least 150 different strains of flu virus over four years, with expectations for follow-on work, a statement said. Company president James Hengst and Chairman Christopher Collins plan a press conference this morning. Bird flu has infected 200 people in Asia and Africa, more than half of whom died, according to the CDC. So far its transmission between humans has been limited, but that could change as mutant variants emerge. Test makers need examples of the virus to make diagnostics that distinguish between ordinary flu strains and fatal ones, Rowland said. As new strains emerge globally, ZeptoMetrix will receive samples to "grow up" in batches for test makers. Its two biohazard labs on Main Street have federal clearance for handling disease agents. It also has a proprietary process for deactivating viruses, making them safe to handle, Rowland said. At the 15,000-square-foot building near the city's medical campus, workers in biohazard suits work with viruses in labs that they enter through an airlock. The anti-pandemic plan is to diagnose dangerous strains rapidly in order to isolate infected regions and individuals.

"Once a pandemic begins, it cannot be stopped easily," the CDC's Influenza Pandemic Operation Plan says. "However, it can be slowed, giving the U.S. time to prepare... and distribute antivirals, vaccines and other countermeasures."

ZeptoMetrix has worked on other dangerous viruses for HIV testing and whooping cough. It has also launched a joint venture with a New Zealand company to develop therapies for bioterrorism weapons like anthrax and botulism. A sister facility in Franklin, Mass., stores blood samples with certain antibodies taken from more than a million people for drug research.