Listen to this articlePositiveID Corporation (PSID) is a life sciences company that develops and markets innovative, disruptive products, which we categorize into three distinct segments: molecular diagnostics, mobile labs, and medical devices. In 2016, the company reported $5.6 million of revenue and its product lines are backed by a portfolio of 22 key patents and patents pending.
Below is our interview with William J. Caragol, Chairman and CEO at PositiveID Corporation:
Q: Could you provide our readers with a brief introduction to your business lines?
A: Our molecular diagnostics business, called ExcitePCR Corporation, is focused primarily on the development and testing of Firefly Dx a handheld, point-of-need, real-time pathogen detection system. Firefly Dx is designed to provide accurate biological detection in less than 30 minutes at the point-of-need using real-time polymerase chain reaction (PCR) chemistry for lab-quality results faster and less expensively than existing systems. The Firefly Dx prototype system has successfully detected Zika, MRSA, MSSA, C. diff, E. coli, influenza and other pathogens. We have agreements with NASA, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, and U.S. Special Operations Command related to Firefly Dx, which is targeting the multi-billion-dollar real-time PCR testing industry with a growing demand for point-of-need testing capabilities.
E-N-G Mobile Systems is our mobile labs and specialty vehicle business, which has built more mobile labs designed for chemical and biological detection, monitoring and analysis than any other specialty vehicle manufacturer. Since 1988, ENG has delivered more than 400 MobiLab mobile laboratories to federal, state and local agencies and private companies. The combination of our biodetection expertise and mobile technology capabilities creates a turnkey mobile lab system able to conduct analysis and full biological testing-to-result in the field where it is needed most. In addition to mobile labs, ENG has delivered more than 1,100 other technical vehicle systems, including mobile systems for emergency preparedness and threat response, communications/command centers, broadcast news vehicles, radio frequency monitoring, infrared monitoring, and video communications vehicle systems.
Last but not least, our medical device business, Thermomedics, markets an FDA-cleared infrared thermometer called Caregiver®, which measures forehead temperature in adults, children and infants, without contact. Since there is no skin contact, Caregiver reduces the risk of cross-contamination, which is an increasing concern, and eliminates the need for probe covers (as much as $0.05 to $0.10 per temperature), storage space, and waste disposal costs. Caregiver is targeting the fastest growing segment of the global temperature monitoring device market, projected at $1 billion by 2020, driven in part by concerns over the spread of highly infectious diseases like Ebola.
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Q: You’ve recently announced $1.5 million strategic investment in your ENG business; can you tell us a little more about that?
A: Earlier this month, we sold a 49% equity interest in ENG for approximately $1.5 million to an affiliate of East West Resources Corporation, a Maryland-based venture capital and consulting firm with a strong track record of success. The investment by East West Resources values the ENG business at approximately three times what we paid for the acquisition only 18 months ago, which highlights the solid financial and operational execution at ENG. Additionally, East West Resources has a vast global network of corporate government and commercial relationships, which we believe will be helpful for ENG’s continued growth.
Recommended: Q: What else are you most excited about at PSID right now?
A: Each of our three segments are executing well. In addition to the investment in ENG, we recently completed the development and certification for the next generation of our Caregiver thermometer with Bluetooth connectivity. This means that the Bluetooth-enabled Caregiver can communicate wirelessly with electronic health records systems and patient monitoring stations in hospitals, which, we believe, positions us well for larger partnership opportunities.
In our molecular diagnostics business, we recently formed ExcitePCR to hold all of the assets of Firefly Dx, with the goal of capitalizing ExcitePCR with the right strategic partners to complete the commercialization of Firefly Dx. We have proven the science behind the system and are working to decrease its size and get the Firefly Dx prototype to a point where we can demonstrate it for third parties, both government and commercial. This would be a critical inflection point for ExcitePCR, and we believe could be transformational for PSID as a whole due to the large market opportunity and high valuations achieved by similar companies in the biological testing space.
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