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VeriChip Corporation and
RECEPTORS LLC to Develop Sensor Systems to Detect Biological Threats
Such as Swine Flu and other Illnesses
Companies to publish
whitepaper, “An Integrated Sensor System for the Detection of
Bio-Threats from Pandemics to Emerging Diseases to Bio-Terrorism,”
available May 7, 2009, at www.verichipcorp.com
DELRAY BEACH, FL, and CHASKA, MN – May
6, 2009 – VeriChip Corporation (“VeriChip”) (NASDAQ: CHIP) and its
development partner RECEPTORS LLC, a technology company whose
AFFINITY by DESIGN™ chemistry platform can be applied to the
development of selective binding products, today announced plans to
develop surveillance and point-of-care sensor systems that will
efficiently detect and identify the presence of a particular
biological threat such as influenza virus, Methicillin-resistant
Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) or other illnesses. The companies will
publish a white paper outlining the development of “An Integrated
Sensor System for the Detection of Bio-Threats from Pandemics to
Emerging Diseases to Bio-Terrorism,” which will be available May 7,
2009, on VeriChip’s website at www.verichipcorp.com.
The products currently in the marketplace to detect and identify
such biological threats fail to provide a comprehensive solution for
threat detection and, importantly, are not stable or scalable.
Additionally, current testing methods are typically too specific to
effectively screen for the broad range of potential agents. Current
methods also may require specialized sample handling in a laboratory
setting and take in excess of 24 hours to produce results. The
companies’ products are expected to produce results on-site within
20 minutes against a broad range of potential biological threats in
a method that is environmentally stable and economically scalable.
Robert E. Carlson, Ph.D., President and Chief Science Officer at
RECEPTORS LLC, said, “Through our development partnership with
VeriChip, we are focused on building an integrated suite of products
that will identify a biological threat, from pandemic influenza and
multiple-resistant pathogens like MRSA, to food borne illnesses such
as salmonella and E. coli. The combination of our CARA platform and
VeriChip's signal transduction and communication capabilities
provide both the technology and the expertise required to build the
integrated bio-threat sensor system.”
Scott R. Silverman, Chairman of VeriChip, said, "As we continue to
build on our partnership with RECEPTORS, which started with the
development of a glucose-sensing RFID implantable microchip, we are
moving beyond patient identification to sensors that can detect and
identify illnesses and viruses such as influenza. This is an
exciting next step for the future of our healthcare division.”
Last week, VeriChip announced it has expanded its existing
development partnership with RECEPTORS, beyond the glucose-sensing
RFID implantable microchip to include other biological and
environmental applications. RECEPTORS recently received Patent No.
7,504,364 titled “Methods of Making Arrays and Artificial Receptors”
and Patent No. 7,469,076 “Sensors Employing Combinatorial Artificial
Receptors,” which are being applied to the development of diagnostic
and sensor platforms for pathogens and other biological threats.
About RECEPTORS LLC
RECEPTORS LLC is a private company based in Chaska, Minnesota.
RECEPTORS' mission is to advance the diagnosis and treatment of
disease and to enhance the health, safety, and quality of the global
environment through the development and application of artificial
receptor products for both research and industry. RECEPTORS'
AFFINITY by DESIGN™ technology is the foundation of its SMART
MATERIALS product platform. Each product incorporates RECEPTORS'
core competence of surface functionalization for selective binding.
This high-throughput approach to the development of stable,
selective and scalable binding environments can be tailored to any
product and application. For further information please visit
http://www.receptorsllc.com or email info@receptorsllc.com.
About VeriChip
VeriChip Corporation, headquartered in Delray Beach, Florida, has
developed the VeriMed™ Health Link System for rapidly and accurately
identifying people who arrive in an emergency room and are unable to
communicate. This system uses the first human-implantable passive
RFID microchip, cleared for medical use in October 2004 by the
United States Food and Drug Administration. To complement its
healthcare division, VeriChip Corporation established VeriGreen
Energy Corporation in March 2009 to focus and invest in the clean
and alternative energy sector.
For more information on VeriChip, please call 1-800-970-2447, or
e-mail info@verichipcorp.com. Additional information can be found
online at www.verichipcorp.com.
Statements about VeriChip’s future
expectations, including its ability to develop and market a
glucose-sensing microchip in conjunction with its development
partner RECEPTORS LLC, its ability to expand its development
partnership with RECEPTORS LLC to include other biological and
environmental applications, and the ability of the biological and
environmental applications that are to be jointly developed and
marketed by it and RECEPTORS LLC to detect, among other things,
swine flu proteins and other proteins, and all other statements in
this press release other than historical facts are “forward-looking
statements” within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act
of 1933, Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, and as
that term is defined in the Private Litigation Reform Act of 1995.
Such forward-looking statements involve risks and uncertainties and
are subject to change at any time, and VeriChip’s actual results
could differ materially from expected results. Additional
information about these and other factors that could affect the
Company’s business is set forth in the Company’s various filings
with the Securities and Exchange Commission, including those set
forth in the Company’s 10-K filed on February 12, 2009, under the
caption “Risk Factors.” The Company undertakes no obligation to
update or release any revisions to these forward-looking statements
to reflect events or circumstances after the date of this statement
or to reflect the occurrence of unanticipated events, except as
required by law.
###
Contact:
Allison Tomek
561-805-8000
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