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Pressure BioSciences invigorates its balance sheet, converts additional US$7.24mln of debt into equity

Last updated: 10:50 12 Jun 2018 EDT, First published: 10:29 12 Jun 2018 EDT

A pressure gadget
Hundreds of labs utilize the company's pressure-based systems to extract proteins from cells

Pressure BioSciences Inc (OTCMKTS:PBIO) continued to strengthen its balance sheet Tuesday with the conversion of an additional US$7.24mln of debt into equity, bringing the total amount of debt that has converted into equity over the past four weeks to more than US$13.6mln.

If the company successfully persuades more debt holders to follow suit and swap their debt for equity, it would increase the life sciences company’s chance of uplisting to a national exchange, such as Nasdaq, later this year.

“We are continuing to discuss the company's progress with remaining debt holders, and anticipate that several more may follow the lead of the approximate 40-plus investors who converted their debt into equity over the past 30 days,” said Pressure BioSciences CFO Joseph L. Damasio. "We believe such further conversions could reduce the amount of loan debt on our balance sheet by an additional 10% to 15%," he added.

READ: Callitas Health, ChemioCare and Pressure BioSciences make a splash at Proactive Investors forum

As a result of its move to pay down its debt and the bolster its revenue, the company’s finances are on more solid ground.  

“We are very pleased to have been able to clean up the balance sheet as much as we have over the past 30 days,” Pressure BioSciences CEO Richard Schumacher said in an emal to Proactive Investors. “Of course, there is more work to be done, which we are excited to be tackling.”

Schumacher noted that the company had successfully accessed debt for working capital. “This has allowed us to increase revenue, enlarge our customer base, enhance our instrument and consumables line, expand our sales and marketing reach, add much-needed manufacturing and development space, and strengthen other internal operational areas.”

He said that at a “strategic level,” debt capital had allowed the company to attain “initial progress and IP issuances” in its new Ultra Shear Technology platform, and to acquire all of BaroFold Corp.'s assets.

“We believe that both of these strategic programs will bring about substantial expansion in major new business segments,” said Schumacher.

The Harvard Medical School trained serial entrepreneur who has founded four companies is extremely enthusiastic about the first contract Pressure BioSciences has signed to sell its PreEMT platform and expects more deals to follow.

The Pre-EMT platform – which uses high pressure to help drug companies develop protein-based therapeutics – is being contracted out to an international biopharma company that intends to use it to improve the quality of a key protein drug. The platform is one is the assets Pressure Biosciences acquired as part of its acquisition of all the assets of BaroFold Inc. last December.

“In our wildest dreams, we didn’t think we’d be securing such an important contract so soon after the acquisition,” Schumacher had earlier told proactive investors. “It’s all coming together this year.”

WATCH: Pressure BioSciences CEO sees increased revenue on projects and services in 2018

In 2017, the company pulled in revenue of $US2.24mln by selling 300 pressure cycling technology (PCT) machines to over 175 customers.

However, 2018 is already shaping up as a banner year. The company’s total revenue for the opening three months of 2018 rose 11% to US$610,774, up from US$551,357 in the year-ago quarter, thanks to booming sales of the company’s lab instruments which utilize pressure to control bio-molecular interactions.

Focus on uplisting to a national exchange

Meanwhile, Jeffrey N. Peterson, chairman of the board, said the conversion of “a majority of our loan debt into equity” would help Pressure BioSciences in its quest to uplist to a national exchange.

"We believe Pressure BioSciences Inc’s recent accomplishments, when combined with the conversion of a majority of our loan debt into equity, will materially facilitate progress towards our stated objective of uplisting to a national exchange (NASDAQ, NYSE/Amex) later in 2018,” said Peterson.

“We believe a national exchange trading platform will provide improved access to capital and trading volumes, and that these should result in a more attractive and higher-value recognition level for the company, benefitting all shareholders," he added.

Pressure BioSciences was founded in 1978 and is based in South Easton, Massachusetts. It develops pressure cycling technology (PCT) solutions and is a leader in the area of high pressure-based technologies, platforms, and services.

Hundreds of labs utilize the company's pressure-based systems to extract proteins from cells and separate lipids, DNA, RNA and smart molecules from biological samples.

Pressure Biosciences' shares traded flat amid a broader market pullback.

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