STONY BROOK, NY--(Marketwired - Aug 6, 2013) - Applied DNA Sciences, Inc. (OTCBB: APDN) (Twitter: @APDN), a provider of DNA-based anti-counterfeiting technology, anti-theft and product authentication solutions, today announced that it has rolled out high-volume, high-throughput SigNature® DNA-marking technology geared to the biggest firms in the electronics industry, including manufacturers and prime contractors to the U.S. Defense Department.
The firm's partners are being trained in the mass-application process known as pad printing, ultraviolet (UV) curing, and in other techniques supporting massive production flows. UV curing, for example, typically adheres the uncopyable SigNature DNA marks to components in seconds. The UV process lends itself to marking delicate / sensitive components without direct handling of the parts themselves during the marking or curing process, a condition stipulated by several primes.
"We think of ourselves as literally 'ready for prime time,'" commented Janice Meraglia, APDN Vice President for Military and Government Programs, "we mean by this that prime contractors for DoD and other major players have their special needs for very fast throughput, special handling of parts and large-scale security measures appropriate to monitoring such massive supply chains. We are systematically improving and scaling our capabilities to meet these needs."
The new steps are part of APDN's platform scalability plans, which it terms its Technology Road Map. The Road Map shows the company's plans to scale and add to its capability as its customer base grows and changes. "We intend to be ready," Meraglia affirmed.
Company officials pointed out that APDN partner SMT Corporation has now implemented the new technologies in dedicated facilities for SigNature DNA marking of electronics. At its 72,000 square foot Sandy Hook Connecticut facility, SMT has completed a 1,000 sq ft purpose-built, high-security DNA marking unit geared to high-volume production flows. Another 1,800 sq ft is completed and ready to be added as necessary. Security, quarantine, and test facilities have also been ramped up to support the SigNature DNA marking and authentication platform.
Slideshow: SMT Corporation new SigNature DNA-marking facilities
SMT now has seven technicians, trained by APDN quality experts, capable of SigNature DNA-marking components, in a facility supporting around the clock 24/7 production runs as necessary. Eleven techs will staff the DNA marking unit by the end of August.
"SMT's growing capabilities closely mirror our Technology Road Map," commented Meraglia.
SMT, a "certified third party marker" for the Defense Logistics Agency (DLA) program which requires SigNature DNA marking on certain components, has played a groundbreaking role in the fight against counterfeits. The company joined APDN and DLA in the 2011 project which validated SigNature DNA as a proactive anti-counterfeiting measure for use by the aero-defense industry.
APDN officials say that the advances in high-volume SigNature DNA will help propel the DLA program, but are equally appropriate for wider distribution, including commercial use.
Tom Sharpe, Vice President and co-founder of SMT Corporation, commented:
"We are committed to this effort. The successful use of DNA to mark electronic components has been a water-shed event in the global fight against the growing proliferation of counterfeit parts in the electronics supply chain."
Dr. James A. Hayward, CEO and President, Applied DNA Sciences, said, "We believe the new advances in the SigNature DNA platform position us well for the near and longer term future. Key to this are partners like SMT, which have built a model infrastructure for SigNature DNA-marking and authentication at a very large scale."
About Applied DNA Sciences
APDN is a provider of botanical-DNA based security and authentication solutions that can help protect products, brands and intellectual property of companies, governments and consumers from theft, counterfeiting, fraud and diversion. SigNature® DNA and smartDNA, our principal anti-counterfeiting and product authentication solutions that essentially cannot be copied, provide a forensic chain of evidence and can be used to prosecute perpetrators.
The statements made by APDN may be forward-looking in nature. Forward-looking statements describe APDN's future plans, projections, strategies and expectations, and are based on assumptions and involve a number of risks and uncertainties, many of which are beyond the control of APDN. Actual results could differ materially from those projected due to our short operating history, limited financial resources, limited market acceptance, market competition and various other factors detailed from time to time in APDN's SEC reports and filings, including our Annual Report on Form 10-K, filed on December 20, 2012 and our subsequent quarterly reports on Form 10-Q. APDN undertakes no obligation to update publicly any forward-looking statements to reflect new information, events or circumstances after the date hereof to reflect the occurrence of unanticipated events.