Pressure BioSciences, Inc. Provides Corporate Update

SOUTH EASTON, Mass., March 20 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Pressure BioSciences, Inc. (Nasdaq: PBIO) ("PBI" and the "Company") today provided an update on various corporate activities, including (1) the receipt of a Phase I Small Business Innovation Research ("SBIR") Grant from the National Institutes of Health ("NIH"), (2) a presentation by Dr. Alexander Ivanov of the Harvard School of Public Health on the significant advantages in throughput and reproducibility of the Company's pressure cycling technology ("PCT"), and (3) the winning by scientists from PBI and the Harvard School of Public Health of the Journal of Biomolecular Techniques ("JBT") Outstanding Manuscript Award.

1) Phase I SBIR Grant Award: PBI was recently notified by the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases ("NIAID") of the NIH that it had been awarded a Phase I SBIR grant (1R43A1081518-01) for a total of $109,998 to be billed over six months. Entitled "Sample Preparation Using Pressure for Microbiome Studies and Clinical Diagnostics", the grant will help fund research studies focused on discovering and cataloging the microbes that live on and in the human body. The approved research plan calls for PCT to be used to prepare all samples in the study for analysis. If the Phase I SBIR studies are successful, the Company expects to submit a request for Phase II SBIR funding later this year. Typical Phase II funding is for approximately $1 million and is billed over a two year period. It should be noted that the NIH has recently initiated the Human Microbiome Project, a logical extension of the recently completed Human Genome Project, with the mission to comprehensively characterize microbes that inhabit the human body, and to analyze their role in human health and disease.

2) Presentation by Dr. Alexander Ivanov: Dr. Ivanov of the Harvard School of Public Health recently delivered a presentation at the 13th annual international meeting of the Association of Biomolecular Resource Facilities ("ABRF") entitled "Searching for Efficient and High-Throughput Alternatives for Essential Sample Preparation Techniques in Mass Spectrometry-based Functional Proteomics." Dr. Ivanov and his colleagues stated that "good control, efficiency, and reproducibility of protein extraction from cells and tissues are essential for diverse biological and basic research applications" and that "effective and specific proteolytic digestion of proteins prior to mass spectrometry ("MS") analysis is one of the fundamental techniques most commonly used in any proteomics laboratory." Dr. Ivanov and his colleagues concluded that "PCT resulted in significant improvement of throughput and reproducibility of sample preparation for proteomic analysis" and that "superior extraction rates... were observed with pressure-assisted sample preparation." Dr. Ivanov's presentation was awarded the "Best Poster Presentation" at the ABRF Annual Meeting.

3) The Journal of Biomolecular Techniques Outstanding Manuscript Award: This annual award recognizes the best research article published each year in the journal. The 2009 award was recently presented to scientists from PBI and the Harvard School of Public Health for their manuscript "Tissue Fractionation by Hydrostatic Pressure Cycling Technology: the Unified Sample Preparation Technique for Systems Biology Studies." The paper discussed the unique ability of PCT and the Company's patent pending ProteoSolve-SB(TM) reagent kit to simultaneously extract DNA, RNA, proteins, and lipids from the same sample. The award was accepted by Dr. Vera Gross of PBI, the paper's corresponding author.

Dr. Nate Lawrence, Vice President of Marketing for Pressure BioSciences, commented: "This SBIR grant will help fund the development of novel, PCT-based sample preparation methods for an important NIH initiative. If PCT-based methods are shown to be successful in improving microbial analysis, we believe that PCT products could be adopted by many laboratories involved in the Human Microbiome Project, as well as others working in the area of microbe detection and analysis. We further believe that the development of rapid, PCT-based microbiological sample preparation methods could potentially open up significant clinical and research market opportunities for PBI."

Mr. Richard T. Schumacher, President and CEO of Pressure BioSciences, Inc., said: "We believe that the data presented by Dr. Ivanov were very compelling and clearly highlighted the significant advantages that PCT has over other methods currently used by thousands of scientists preparing samples every day for the analysis of proteins. These data were generated in part using the PCT-dependent method described in the paper by Dr. Gross and her colleagues that won the JBT outstanding manuscript of the year award. We firmly believe that taken together, the recent Phase I SBIR Microbiome award, the Ivanov presentation, and the JBT honor are clear and continued validation of the growing acceptance of PCT by the scientific community."

About Pressure BioSciences, Inc.

Pressure BioSciences, Inc. (PBI) is a publicly traded company focused on the development of a novel, enabling technology called Pressure Cycling Technology (PCT). PCT uses cycles of hydrostatic pressure between ambient and ultra-high levels (up to 35,000 psi and greater) to control bio-molecular interactions. PBI currently holds 13 US and 6 foreign patents covering multiple applications of PCT in the life sciences field, including genomic and proteomic sample preparation, pathogen inactivation, the control of chemical (primarily enzymatic) reactions, immunodiagnostics, and protein purification. PBI currently focuses its efforts in the development and sale of PCT-enhanced enzymatic digestion products designed specifically for the mass spectrometry marketplace, as well as sample preparation products for biomarker discovery, soil and plant biology, forensics, histology, and counter-bioterror applications.

Forward Looking Statements

Statements contained in this press release regarding the Company's intentions, hopes, beliefs, expectations, or predictions of the future are "forward-looking'' statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Forward looking statements include statements regarding the reported effectiveness of PCT in the extraction of proteins from cells and tissues, and the advantages of PCT in throughput and reproducibility; the adoption and growing acceptance of PCT over other sample preparation methods; the expectation that the Company's studies, when continued with the proceeds of the Phase I SBIR grant, will be successful, and may lead to the submission of a Phase II SBIR grant application in 2009, and the expected amount of such Phase II funding; the possibility that PCT products may be adopted by laboratories involved in the Human Microbiome Project and others working in the area of microbe detection and analysis; the Company's decision to focus primarily on the application of PCT-enhanced protein digestion for the mass spectrometry market and the advantages of PCT in this market; and the use of PCT in biomarker discovery, soil and plant biology, forensics, histology, and counter-bioterror applications. These statements are based upon the Company's current expectations, forecasts, and assumptions that are subject to risks, uncertainties, and other factors that could cause actual outcomes and results to differ materially from those indicated by these forward-looking statements. These risks, uncertainties, and other factors include, but are not limited to: possible difficulties or delays in the implementation of the Company's strategies that may adversely affect the Company's continued commercialization of PCT; changes in customer's needs and technological innovations; the Company's sales force may not be successful in selling the Company's PCT product line because scientists may not perceive the advantages of PCT over other sample preparation methods, particularly in the mass spectrometry market; and scientists may not be able to duplicate the results achieved at particular laboratories having already used PCT. Further, the Company expects that it will need additional capital to fund its continuing operations beyond the second quarter of 2010. Additional risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from those indicated by these forward-looking statements are discussed under the heading "Risk Factors" in the Company's Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2007, 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.

Visit us at our website http://www.pressurebiosciences.com/

    Investor Contacts:
    Richard T. Schumacher, President & CEO
    R. Wayne Fritzsche, Chairman
    Pressure BioSciences, Inc.
    (508) 230-1828 (T)

SOURCE Pressure BioSciences, Inc.

RELATED LINKS
http://www.pressurebiosciences.com