Applied DNA Sciences, Inc. (APDN-OTC.BB) announced today that it was invited by the Chairman of the New York Senate Higher Education Committee to speak about APDN’s digitalDNA™ technology to assist in blocking cheating on standardized tests, such as the SAT college entrance exam. Dr. James Hayward, President and CEO of Applied DNA Sciences, Inc., is expected to discuss how the Company’s digitalDNA technology can aid in preventing cheating.
This comes on the heels of a scandal discovered last November when dozens of individuals were arrested on Long Island—largely from Long Island's North Shore schools—and paid to take the SAT test for others. At least four test-takers have been accused of accepting cash payments of between $500 to $3,600.
The Company’s digitalDNA system creates a counterfeit-proof, secure ID card, which is embedded with infinitesimal molecules of plant DNA segments that authenticate a student's identity in a way that is completely uncopyable. There is also a scannable printed code, which visually represents the same identity information. The physical code of digitalDNA is embedded within the iconic code, and in covert locations on the card. Via a Smartphone or other mobile device, a scan is instantly done for exam-screening purposes, or at any other point. If necessary, a second level of screening is available—the plant DNA on the card may be swabbed and forensically evaluated. Information is sent wirelessly to and stored in an ultra-secure internet database in “a private cloud.”
This technology is already being used by the Federal Government at highly secured sites.
The compete CBS story can be found here.
A video clip of the interview can be found here.
The State Senate hearing on SAT cheating is scheduled for January 24th, between the hours of 12:00PM and 3:00PM in the Legislative Office Building, Hearing Room A in Albany, New York. This event will also be streamed live on the NY Senate, Committee on Higher Education webpage found at: http://www.nysenate.gov/committee/higher-education.
Follow Crystal Research on Facebook or Twitter to be among the first to receive updates and announcements on Applied DNA Sciences, Inc.’s latest development initiatives.
We recently received an update from TapImmune Inc. (TPIV-OTC.BB) regarding the Company's newly acquired laboratory and office space in South Lake Union (Seattle's up-and-coming biotech hub). Through a strategic sublease with the Puget Sound Blood Center Research Institute, TapImmune's scientific research team now has access to shared equipment and state-of-the-art core laboratories for DNA sequencing, Mass Spectrometry (shown below), and Fluorescent Activated Cell Sorting (FACS)—a unique opportunity for any startup company.
This corporate milestone not only provides TapImmune the opportunity to immediately begin delivery of the Company’s gene-based product candidates for clinical trials but also supports the Company’s external R&D collaborations.
We are very excited to be working with the Puget Sound Blood Center's internationally-recognized group of scientific investigators since this allows a leveraging of our development dollars in a way that expands our capabilities well beyond our core staff.
~ Dr. Mark Reddish, TapImmune's VP of Product Development, Jan. 18, 2012
Dr. Reddish was brought on board in November 2011 due to his experience developing immunotherapy products for both cancer and biodefense. At Biomira Inc. (now Oncothyreon Inc. [ONTY-NASDAQ]), he was responsible for preclinical development of the cancer vaccines program, where he led the early R&D of the Stimuvax® cancer vaccine, which is now in Phase III clinical trials under a partnership with Merck KGaA (MRK-XETRA). As well, he was the former vice president of product development and principal investigator, biodefense at ID Biomedical Corp. before its acquisition by GlaxoSmithKline plc (GSK-NYSE) for $1.4 billion in late 2005.
Going forward, Dr. Reddish will have a key role in TapImmune’s development operations and the progression of its product pipeline, particularly as the Company opens its new Seattle-based labs. TapImmune planned to move into the facility imminently.
Follow Crystal Research on Facebook or Twitter to be among the first to receive updates and announcements on TapImmune's latest development initiatives.
Sacramento's FOX40 interviews Frank Reynolds of InVivo Therapeutics (NVIV). Mr. Reynolds discusses his own experience with paralysis and how it led to his founding of InVivo Therapeutics. He also overviews the technology that InVivo is developing and its successes to date combating spinal injury/paralysis in monkeys. Highlights of the interview include mention that the Company's first product does not require any drugs or stem cells. It is a unique medical device that Mr. Reynolds expects to hit the market by the end of 2013. For more details on InVivo Therapeutics and the work that this innovative company is performing, download a copy of our comprehensive Executive Informational Overview on InVivo, published in December 2011.
To view the interview on FOX40's webpage, click here.
Working With a World-class NanoTech Complex
This week, Applied DNA Sciences announced a partnership with the College of Nanoscale Science and Engineering (CNSE) at the University of Albany. This collaboration is particularly important for APDN as it further increases the company's exposure to sizable defense market. APDN and the CNSE's Albany NanoTech Complex are working together to apply a unique plant-based DNA marker to computer chips as they move through the manufacturing process. This page explains some of the world-class resources and equipment that APDN will have access to at the NanoTech Complex.
Creating anti-counterfeit solutions for computer chips in the defense industry is a $20 billion market opportunity alone, but notably, APDN is not stopping with just defense applications. Nanotechnology-driven innovations developed in partnership with the CNSE address an even larger market for nanosecurity...estimated at over $300 billion in nanoelectronics, defense, and aerospace.
APDN's technology, which has long been successful in anti-crime applications, is branching out to prevent counterfeits in the military supply chain at just the right time. Read our post earlier this month here about the 2012 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA), a new federal anti-counterfeiting law passed in December requiring that the Department of Defense, Department of Homeland Security, and government contractors make active efforts to detect and eliminate counterfeit parts in the military supply chain.
Continued Successes Linking Criminals to Stolen Cash in Europe
On January 13, 2012, Applied DNA revealed that its SigNature DNA® anti-crime technology was used to mark cash as part of a massive police operation to dismantle a major drug ring in the UK. Eleven drug cartel members were sentenced to a total of 31 years in prison. Greater details here.
"Our technologies are being used to obtain convictions in major crimes throughout Europe and now the US. In cases like this, where sophisticated criminals can be difficult to find and convict, our SigNature DNA makes a watertight case. It proves legally and without doubt that the criminal is linked to a specific crime."
~ APDN’s CEO and President Dr. James Hayward on January 13, 2012
This has been a big week for healthcare and biotech.
The JP Morgan Healthcare Conference 2012 took place this week in San Francisco, as did the 2012 Biotech Showcase and OneMedPlace's annual healthcare conference, the OneMedForum SF 2012.
At the OneMedForum, Crystal Research Associates' CEO Jeffrey Kraws was selected to participate in a panel on Chronic Diseases, Wellness, & Patient Engagement. He was joined by Dr. Gunnar Weikert, MD, PhD, Chairman, CEO, and Founder of Inventages Venture Capital Investments, and Leslie Ziegler of Rock Health, a San Francisco-based incubator for early stage digital health start ups. As part of the panel, Mr. Kraws discussed some of the innovative new approaches for managing chronic disease.
Several of the pharma/biotech companies under our coverage also presented at the Biotech Showcase and OneMedForum conferences this week, including...
GenSpera, Inc. (GNSZ-OTCBB)
InVivo Therapeutics Holdings Corp. (NVIV-OTCBB)
Neuralstem, Inc. (CUR-AMEX)
Peregerine Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (PPHM-NASDAQ)
and Advaxis Inc. (ADXS-OTCBB)
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This Week in Company News
Also this week, we saw key announcements from InVivo Therapeutics (NVIV-OTCBB), MedPro Safety Products, Inc. (MPSP-OTCBB), and General Cannabis, Inc. (now SearchCore, Inc. [SRER-OTCPK]), as summarized below.
InVivo Therapeutics
Since Geron Corp.’s (GERN-NASDAQ) November 2011 announcement to discontinue further development of its stem cell programs (including its clinical program for spinal cord injury), InVivo has gained investors’ attention for its position at the forefront of spinal cord injury research. Capitalizing on Geron’s announcement, InVivo is expanding awareness of its biocompatible polymer-based scaffold platform for treating spinal cord injuries at investor conferences across the U.S. On Tuesday, January 10, 2012, InVivo’s CEO Frank Reynolds presented NVIV’s most recent breakthroughs and provided a business update to potential investors during the Biotech Showcase (as part of the Regenerative Medicine Insight Track in the section on CNS, Ophthalmology, and Spinal Injury). InVivo is awaiting FDA approval for its first human clinical study for acute SCI treatment, expected to begin in 2012. InVivo is also scheduled to present at BOCEMb 2012 Equity Conference at the Hard Rock Hotel in Hollywood, Florida, on Wednesday, January 18th at 9:00 am EST.
As well, Mr. Reynolds was featured on KTXL-TV’s FOX40 Live on Wednesday, January 11 during the 8:00 AM (PST) newscast to discuss NVIV’s therapeutic approach for spinal cord injury treatment. He is also scheduled to appear on Minneapolis’ ABC affiliate, KSTP-TV, on Sunday, January 15th during the 8:00 AM (CST) newscast as well as on the Minneapolis’ FOX affiliate, KMSP-TV, on Monday, January 16th during the 8:00 AM (CST) newscast to discuss paralyzing injuries to local high school hockey players.
MedPro Safety Products
MedPro is strengthening its senior management team to support the company’s plan to expand its development focus to include all devices that enable greater patient safety. On January 12, 2012, MPSP appointed George J. Kostas to serve as the executive vice president of finance and Peter Forceville as vice president of business development, Europe and Asia. As well, MedPro announced its plan to open offices in New York City, where Mr. Kostas will be located, and in Brussels, Belgium, where Mr. Forceville will be based.
General Cannabis
As of January 6, 2012, General Cannabis, Inc. changed its corporate name to SearchCore, Inc. to reflect its expansion into new industries beyond medical cannabis. SearchCore has thus repositioned itself as a technology-based Internet marketing services company, capitalizing on the scalability and success of its proven business model (established through General Cannabis). SearchCore’s business model includes Internet verticals in various niche markets, custom management software, and technology-focused business services.
SearchCore has also acquired MMJMenu, LLC, a provider of seed-to-sale collective management and point-of-sale software for the medical marijuana industry, through its WeedMaps Media, Inc. subsidiary. SearchCore plans to integrate MMJMenu's proprietary software, which supports the traceability of products, into its system.
Earlier today, GenSpera presented at the Biotech Showcase™ 2012 in San Francisco, California. GenSpera also recently participated in the Wall Street Analyst Forum, where Dr. Craig Dionne discussed the latest achievements and future milestones for GNSZ (shown below).
Of note is the continuing progress in the Phase I Human G-202 trial in cancer patients who are refractory to prior chemotherapy. Data from this trial is expected in early 2012.
"So far, we've dosed 25 patients. We've gone through seven cohorts. We're about to dose escalate into the eighth. That should begin hopefully before Christmas, maybe early in the New Year. To put this in perspective, our first dose was around a 2 mg dose. We just finished 120 mg in dosing. The next dose may be as high as 180 mg. So we've gone through a huge range of dosing. To be honest, we thought we would have reached the maximum tolerated dose last May. The drug has surprised us, it's safer than we thought (not than we hoped), but it's safer than we thought. And we're still going up."
~ Dr. Craig Dionne, President & CEO of GenSpera, Inc. on Dec. 6, 2011
GenSpera is a development-stage oncology company focused on targeted therapies for cancer that deliver a potent drug directly to tumors, thus maximizing efficacy while minimizing side effects. Unlike standard cancer drugs, thapsigargin kills cancer cells independent of cell division rates, which gives it the capability to kill slow-growing cancer stem cells, which are often responsible for tumor relapse after conventional cancer treatment.
This morning, we released our initial Executive Informational Overview on GeoMegA Resources (GMA-TSX.V), a mineral exploration company in Quebec. The report in its entirety is available here.
GeoMegA has been particularly noteworthy as of late. The Company is focused on clean technology metals, which are those metals used in the production of clean technology products or components. Clean technologies are economically competitive and productive while using less material and/or energy, generating less waste, and causing less environmental damage than alternatives. As society demands more high-tech and “green” products, the supply of the metals used in the manufacture of these products is imperative. Rare earth elements, such as GeoMegA seeks to supply, have significant strategic importance in the 21st century as they are used in the production of electric vehicles, wind turbines, light-emitting diodes (LEDs), cell phones, fiber optics, lasers, hard disks, missile defense, and many other high-tech or “green” applications.
At present, approximately 97% of rare earths worldwide are produced at mines in China; however, China has begun setting stringent caps and increasing taxes on its rare earth exports. Such production quotas in China led to a 40% decrease in the country’s rare earth element exports in 2010. This contraction in supply combined with greater demand has caused significant price increases in the rare earths market and is leading consumers to reevaluate their supply chains. Thus, as China’s output declines, new rare earth mine potential is being developed around the world, such as GeoMegA’s Montviel carbonatite deposit in Quebec.
Demand for rare earths was 120,000 tonnes in 2010, up from approximately 30,000 tonnes annually in the 1980s. Demand, forecast to reach 200,000 tonnes per year by 2015, is anticipated to outpace supply over the next several decades. In contrast, current global REE production is only approximately 112,000 tonnes, creating opportunities for new suppliers.
Notably, GeoMegA operates in Quebec, which is frequently named among the best regionsworldwide for mining investment. Over the past two years, the Company has been accelerating exploration at its wholly owned Montviel carbonatite (one of a portfolio of 20 properties), and in September 2011, announced a significant National Instrument 43-101-compliant resource calculation, which identified 183.9 million tonnes (Mt) of indicated resources averaging 1.45% total rare earth oxides (TREO) in addition to 66.7 Mt of inferred resources averaging 1.46% TREO. The 43-101 calculation also demonstrated the presence of niobium and other critical rare earths, including considerable quantities of neodymium oxide, a key rare earth element used in the manufacture of permanent magnets.
A second stage of drilling is now ongoing, which in December 2011, already returned positive results.
We look forward to continuing to follow GeoMegA’s progress, as the Company completes Phase II drilling and conducts economic/feasibility studies.
Worldwide population growth, continued geopolitical conflict in oil-producing regions, volatile energy prices, and heightened concerns of climate change are fueling demands for energy efficiency—specifically for products that can cut energy consumption and costs, reduce dependence on oil, and reduce emissions of carbon dioxide and other harmful greenhouse gases. According to Inc. Magazine, commercial and residential buildings account for nearly 40% of energy used in the U.S., with an estimated 52% of CO2 emissions tied specifically to the built environment. Thus, “greening up” the U.S.’s buildings, roads, and other infrastructure represents a big challenge and, concurrently, a big opportunity going forward that we here at Crystal Research Associates are excited to watch.
But the greening of America is not the only trend that we expect to impact U.S. building in the coming years. In parallel with a global movement toward more energy-efficient, sustainable products, much of the infrastructure in the U.S. is reaching the end of its lifecycle, necessitating either repair or new, improved construction. These needs for both greening up U.S. infrastructure as well as for retrofitting the existing built environment are being achieved throughnanotechnology, which is shaping up to become a driving force for innovation and sustainability in the 21st century and beyond. Nanotechnology enables new approaches to solving many of today’s social, economic, environmental, and infrastructure concerns, and in doing so, is changing the landscape of virtually every aspect of the built environment. The potential benefits of energy-saving, ecofriendly, nano-based materials are considerable. Fueled by an array of such startups and new technologies, the global market for green building materials to date has become a $156 billion industry per year.
“Nanotechnology & the Built Environment: the Transition to Green Infrastructure” is a 76-page, comprehensive report on the impact of advanced materials on the infrastructure markets. This report details breakthrough innovations in cement, bricks, insulation, windows, LED lighting, building-integrated photovoltaics, steel, smart grid technologies, sensors, water, and HVAC systems. Over 100 companies, research institutions, and key investors are included, as well as market snapshots for many of the key building materials sectors.
Nanotechnology & the Built Environment is only our initial report on this breakthrough field. For continuing nanotech/advanced building materials coverage and alerts for updated research, you can follow our Facebook and Twitter feeds.
Some of the entities covered in the report are…
A. Schulman, Inc. (SHLM-NASDAQ)
Abakan, Inc. (ABKI-OTC)
Aspen Aerogels, Inc.
BASF SE (BASFY-OTC)
Bridgelux, Inc.
Cabot Corporation (CBT-NYSE)
Calera Corp.
Calgon Carbon Corporation (CCC-NYSE)
CalStar Products, Inc.
FRX Polymers, Inc.
General Electric Company (GE-NYSE)
HelioVolt Corporation
Hexcel Corporation (HXL-NYSE)
Honeywell International (HON-NYSE)
Hüper Optik USA (Hüper Optik International Pte., Ltd.)
Hycrete, Inc.
Johnson Controls, Inc. (JCI-NYSE)
Lemnis Lighting B.V. (and its subsidiary Lemnis, Inc.)
MiaSolé
MMFX Technologies Corporation
Opower, Inc.
PURETi Inc.
Serious Energy, Inc.
Sherwin-Williams Company (SHW-NYSE)
Siemens AG (SI-NYSE)
Silver Spring Networks, Inc.
Soladigm, Inc.
Tendril Networks Inc.
The NanoSteel Company, Inc.
Titanium Metals (TIE-NYSE)
A significant opportunity has arisen for Applied DNA Sciences (APDN-OTC) and its anti-counterfeiting and diversion efforts…
On December 31, 2011, a bipartisan amendment to the 2012 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) new federal anti-counterfeiting law was passed requiring the Department of Defense, the Department of Homeland Security, and government contractors to make active efforts to detect and eliminate counterfeit parts in the military supply chain. As a result, any company that sells counterfeit products to the military could become legally and financially liable—whether or not they produced the fake component. Comprehensive details of the approved 2012 NDAA are available here.
The bipartisan amendment was passed in response to a Senate Armed Services Committee hearing on November 8, 2011, that exposed upward of one million counterfeit parts in the U.S. military supply chain—a significant safety risk to both military personnel and national security.
APDN has developed a beneficial and cost-effective anti-counterfeiting solution for government contractors and federal agencies affected by the new legislation, which could dramatically impact semiconductor, aerospace, and other sectors.
APDN’s anti-counterfeiting technology is currently funded by the Defense Logistics Agency (DLA) in an ongoing pilot program. In June 2011, successful preliminary results of a program to DNA mark and verify microchips used by the DLA were released, after which APDN was awarded a nearly $1 million follow-on contract to fully engage one of the government’s microchip supply chains. This ability to track and verify microchips and other products sold to the military supply chain—from the source to the end user—meets the requirements of the newly enacted anti-counterfeiting legislation. Ultimately, this technology could be expanded to benefit unrelated industries such as medical devices and the automotive industry—minimizing the costs and dangers of having counterfeit products in these supply chains.
We look forward to closely following APDN for any new contracts or customers that engage APDN’s anti-counterfeiting technology in an effort to meet the requirements of the 2012 NDAA and eliminate counterfeits from the military supply chain. Follow Crystal Research on Facebook or Twitter for continued news and announcements on APDN.
An overview of APDN’s anti-counterfeiting technologies and ongoing initiatives is available here. A full portfolio of independent stock research is available through the Crystal Research library.