MISSISSAUGA, Ontario, Jan. 03, 2024 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Microbix Biosystems Inc. (TSX: MBX, OTCQX: MBXBF, Microbix^®), a life sciences innovator, manufacturer, and exporter, announces it has sold and shipped over one million Canadian Dollars (“C$ 1 Million”) of its quality assessment products (“QAPs™”) to a leading agency that provides clinical laboratory accreditation services. This is Microbix’s largest-ever individual shipment to a lab proficiency-testing (“PT”) and external quality assessment (“EQA”) services provider.

The orders were for Microbix QAPs, in both the traditional liquid-vials and formatted onto Copan^® FLOQSwabs^®, to support proficiency programs covering numerous infectious diseases across multiple disease categories. The QAPs provided included those to support antigen and molecular (i.e., PCR) tests. They will be used to help validate accuracy of testing on a wide range of test systems – ranging from high-throughput automated instruments to lower volume point-of-care and lab-developed tests.

These sales were realized in the fourth quarter of calendar 2023 (i.e., Q1 of Microbix’s fiscal 2024). As with the over C$ 1 Million set of QAPs purchase orders (“P.Os.”) from a multinational test-maker announced in late September, this PT/EQA-oriented set of P.Os. was nearly equivalent to a full year’s worth of QAPs sales from 2020 and is indicative of Microbix beginning to realize its targeted sales growth for this segment of its business. The unit number of QAPs shipped under this set of P.Os. is in the tens of thousands and Microbix expects ongoing sales to this longtime PT/EQA customer.

Microbix believes this record set of orders substantiates its technical leadership in creating and producing test controls (i.e., QAPs). Specifically, that the accuracy and reliability of sophisticated clinical laboratory testing must be validated by PT/EQA programs and that such programs must be supported by cross-platform compatible QAPs in formats that represent actual patient samples (i.e., both liquids & swabs).

Cameron Groome, CEO & President of Microbix, stated, “We’re delighted to advance our relationship with this international leader in the PT/EQA sector of the clinical laboratory industry. We understand that we earned this increased level of business due to the technical superiority of Microbix QAPs – namely their providing clinically-relevant pathogen-signals and whole-process validation while being entirely compatible with each of the instrument and assay systems now in use within laboratories.”

Phil Casselli, SVP of Sales and Business Development of Microbix, also commented, “The range of diagnostic assays keeps growing so we grow our PT sample range accordingly and thank our customer for their confidence in us as their supplier. Two orders of this magnitude a few months apart also validates our decision to increase our production capacity to support these growing markets – whether that be for PT/EQA samples, QC for core-lab based assays, in-kit controls for point-of-care tests, or our ONBOARDx training kits. We look forward to building more such relationships and setting further sales records.”

About Microbix Biosystems Inc.

Microbix Biosystems Inc. creates proprietary biological products for human health, with over 100 skilled employees and annualized sales now targeting C$ 2.0 million per month. It makes a wide range of critical ingredients and devices for the global diagnostics industry, notably antigens for immunoassays and its laboratory quality assessment products (QAPs™) that support clinical lab proficiency testing, enable assay development and validation, or help ensure the quality of clinical diagnostic workflows. Its antigens drive the antibody tests of approximately 100 diagnostics makers, while QAPs are sold to clinical lab accreditation organizations, diagnostics companies, and clinical labs. Microbix QAPs are now available in over 30 countries, supported by a network of 10 international distributors. Microbix is ISO 9001 & 13485 accredited, U.S. FDA registered, Australian TGA registered, Health Canada establishment licensed, and provides CE marked products.

Microbix also applies its biological expertise and infrastructure to develop other proprietary products and technologies, most notably viral transport medium (DxTM™) to stabilize patient samples for lab-based molecular diagnostic testing and Kinlytic^® urokinase, a biologic thrombolytic drug used to treat blood clots. Microbix is traded on the TSX and OTCQX, and headquartered in Mississauga, Ontario, Canada.

Forward-Looking Information

This news release includes “forward-looking information,” as such term is defined in applicable securities laws. Forward-looking information includes, without limitation, discussion of the PT/EQA customer purchases of QAPs and their relevance, Microbix’s business and business results, goals or outlook, risks associated with financial results and stability, development projects such as those referenced in its corporate presentation, regulatory compliance and approvals, sales to foreign jurisdictions, engineering and construction, production (including control over costs, quality, quantity and timeliness of delivery), foreign currency and exchange rates, maintaining adequate working capital and raising further capital on acceptable terms or at all, and other similar statements concerning anticipated future events, conditions or results that are not historical facts. These statements reflect management’s current estimates, beliefs, intentions and expectations; they are not guarantees of future performance. The Company cautions that all forward-looking information is inherently uncertain, and that actual performance may be affected by many material factors, some of which are beyond the Company’s control. Accordingly, actual future events, conditions and results may differ materially from the estimates, beliefs, intentions and expectations expressed or implied in the forward-looking information. All statements are made as of the date of this news release and represent the Company’s judgement as of the date of this new release, and the Company is under no obligation to update or alter any forward-looking information.

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Microbix^®, DxTM™, Kinlytic^®, ONBOARDx™, and QAPs™ are trademarks of Microbix Biosystems Inc.
Copan^®, FLOQ^®, and FLOQSwab^® are trademarks of Copan Italia S.p.A.