Astrotech Developing Screening Instrument for Lung Diseases Including COVID-19/Coronavirus & Pneumonia
25 March 2020 - 11:00PM
Business Wire
Astrotech Corporation [NASDAQ: ASTC] today announced that the
BreathTest-1000™ is under development to screen for volatile
organic compound (VOC) metabolites found in a person’s breath that
could indicate they may have an infection, including Coronavirus
Disease 2019 (“COVID-19”) or the resulting disease, pneumonia. The
Company believes that its unique mass spectrometry technology that
was initially developed in collaboration with the National
Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), the U.S. Army, and the
Transportation Security Administration (TSA) is ideal for lung
disease testing applications, which are now under development.
The Astrotech mass spectrometry technology (Technology) was
designed to be inexpensive, small, rugged, fast, and easy to use
for air quality monitoring and trace detection of chemical warfare
agents, explosives, and narcotics. It has also been certified by
the European Civil Aviation Conference (ECAC) and is now deployed
in air cargo facilities throughout the European Union. The Company
believes that the Company’s Technology can be designed as a
field-deployed instrument used at drive-up testing facilities to
quickly (under 1 min.) and easily (minimal training required) test
for the VOCs found in the breath of COVID-19 and pneumonia infected
patients.
Most reliable testing performed today requires the collection of
off-site samples in the field that are then sent to centrally
located laboratories for testing. This process requires many days
to ship, process, and receive the results, exacerbating the problem
while people spread the disease. With the BreathTest-1000™, testing
is performed at the point-of-care and the screening results are
near-instant. The BreathTest-1000™ is not expected to be as
accurate as laboratory DNA testing but could be an excellent quick
screening device for field applications.
The development of the BreathTest-1000 follows the Company’s
announcement on June 15th, 2017, where positive results were
reported in pre-clinical trials for the BreathDetect-1000, a rapid
bedside breathalyzer that detects bacterial infections in the
respiratory tract, including pneumonia. Subject to any necessary
regulatory approvals, the Company plans to combine the detection of
COVID-19 with the detection of pneumonia into the BreathTest-1000
instrument to provide a near-immediate screening test for symptoms
that indicate a person might have COVID-19 or pneumonia.
“With the Coronavirus pandemic impacting millions of families
around the globe, we are now very focused on the development of a
rugged, inexpensive, quick, and easy to use testing platform that
can be deployed to thousands of point-of-care locations worldwide,
if approved. This is an incredibly scalable solution that is very
much needed to screen as many people as possible in the shortest
time," stated Thomas B. Pickens III, Chairman and Chief Executive
Officer of Astrotech Corporation.
In addition, the Company will be launching a new subsidiary
company, BreathTech Corporation, that will hold the exclusive
license to use the 1st Detect Technology™ for breath analysis.
About Astrotech Corporation
Astrotech (NASDAQ: ASTC) is a science and technology development
and commercialization company that launches, manages, and builds
scalable companies based on innovative technology in order to
maximize shareholder value. 1st Detect develops, manufactures, and
sells explosives trace detectors for use in the security and
detection market. AgLAB develops, manufactures, and sells chemical
analyzers for use in the agriculture market. BreathTech is
developing a breath analysis tool to provide early detection of
lung diseases. Astrotech is headquartered in Austin, Texas. For
information, please visit www.astrotechcorp.com.
This press release contains forward-looking statements that are
made pursuant to the Safe Harbor provisions of the Private
Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Such forward-looking
statements are subject to risks, trends, and uncertainties that
could cause actual results to be materially different from the
forward-looking statement. These factors include, but are not
limited to, whether we can successfully develop our proprietary
technologies and whether the market will accept our products and
services, as well as other risk factors and business considerations
described in the Company’s Securities and Exchange Commission
filings including the annual report on Form 10-K. Any
forward-looking statements in this document should be evaluated in
light of these important risk factors. The Company assumes no
obligation to update these forward-looking statements.
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version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20200325005210/en/
Eric Stober, Chief Financial Officer, Astrotech Corporation,
(512) 485-9530
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