MINNEAPOLIS, Jan. 25, 2018 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Skyline Medical Inc (NASDAQ:SKLN) (“Skyline” or the “Company”) today announced it will change
its name to Precision Therapeutics Inc., effective February 1, 2018. The new name has been chosen to better reflect the Company’s
new strategic focus on applying artificial intelligence to precision medicine and drug discovery and marks a new chapter of the
Company’s growth.
In addition to the new corporate name, the Company will change its ticker symbol on NASDAQ to ‘AIPT’. The Company will issue
another press release in the near future announcing the date at which the new ticker symbol will take effect.
Precision Therapeutics mission is to positively improve the effectiveness of cancer therapy using the power of artificial
intelligence (AI) applied to our rich data diseases data base. Through our venture with Helomics we control a diagnostic platform
that generates rich molecular profiles and drug response data from the patient’s own tumor. This data is analyzed by our AI-based
bioinformatics platform (D-CHIP™) which provides a precision oncology roadmap for the patient and their oncologist. Revenues are
generated from the Helomics platform for the tests performed, e.g. Next Generation Sequencing (NGS) of the tumor etc. The
D-CHIP platform continually learns the association between the DNA alterations and the drug response of the patient’s tumor
generating actionable knowledge that is of great value to Pharma companies developing new therapies. Access to this knowledge and
any lab services is offered through Helomics Contract Research (CRO) business.
To enhance the foundation provided by Helomics and drive both diagnostic and CRO revenues we intend to add additional strategic
partnerships and acquisitions in the precision medicine space such as additional molecular tests for cancer and other diseases,
companion diagnostics, microbiome assessment and other technologies to complement Next Generation Sequencing (NGS), e.g.
standards.
Every test we perform adds to both the depth and utility of the D-CHIP knowledgebase to create a unique and highly valuable
asset, allowing Precision Therapeutic to achieve its goal of positively improving patient outcomes.
Precision Medicine is an emerging field of healthcare that considers a patient’s genes, lifestyle, and environment in the
development of effective therapies to treat disease. This is leading to better and more personalized treatments and diagnostic
technologies and is rapidly becoming seen as a credible new approach to healthcare. According to research from Global Market Insights, the precision medicine market is estimated to grow at 10.5% CAGR to
reach $96 billion by 2024.
Skyline’s new growth strategy is to participate in the growth of the emerging precision medicine sector by providing customized
contract research organization (“CRO”) services to pharmaceutical, diagnostic, and academic organizations as they seek to bring
novel drugs and targeted therapies to the marketplace. To drive this plan, the Company has secured a 20% equity stake in Helomics
Corporation, a precision diagnostic company and integrated clinical contract research organization with established operations that
bridge two emerging areas of the healthcare industry: precision medicine and artificial intelligence/big data. Helomics D-Chip
platform uses artificial intelligence-powered bioinformatics to find insights from patient tumor data to help disease diagnosis,
produce new diagnostics and therapies and perform improved clinical trials. The Company plans to increase its investment in
Helomics to 25% through the conversion of a previous $500,000 loan to Helomics.
Through the Company’s partnership with Helomics, the Company has also partnered with GLG Pharma, a biotechnology company focused
on precision medicine, to add a collection system to the STREAMWAY System, using GLG’s Capture, Culture and Screening system. The
Company also continues to explore other opportunities to partner with revenue-generating companies and create near-term and
long-term value for its shareholders in the CRO space.
The Company believes its flagship product, the FDA approved STREAMWAY®System, is the best solution on the market for medical
fluid waste management and the Company will continue to implement its enhanced sales and marketing campaign, which commenced in
2017. The Company has already seen early success with this campaign, and reported a ramp in trials and sales of the STREAMWAY
System to U.S.-based hospitals in the fourth quarter of 2017 and early 2018. Due to the industry’s strong brand recognition of both
Skyline Medical and the STREAMWAY System, Skyline Medical will continue to operate as a division of Precision Therapeutics, and all
core elements of the fluid waste management business will remain the same.
Dr. Carl Schwartz, CEO of Skyline Medical, commented, “Our new strategic direction marks a significant step in the Company’s
evolution, and by changing our name we are developing a strong corporate identity that will accurately represent our company and
its services to both our customers and shareholders. Expanding into precision medicine provides our shareholders with access to a
rapidly growing market that is revolutionizing the future of healthcare. Precision Therapeutics will operate two divisions: one
which will be entirely focused on providing customized CRO services to pharmaceutical companies engaged in the development of
precision medicine, and the other will continue to operate as Skyline Medical, the industry-leading producer of the STREAMWAY®
System for automated, direct-to-drain medical fluid disposal.”
Along with the name change and change in NASDAQ symbol, the Company plans to adopt a new logo and new website. The Company will
provide further updates to shareholders regarding these changes in the near future.
About Skyline Medical
Skyline Medical produces a fully automated, patented, FDA-cleared waste fluid disposal system that virtually eliminates staff
exposure to blood, irrigation fluid and other potentially infectious fluids found in the healthcare environment. Antiquated manual
fluid handling methods that require hand carrying and emptying filled fluid canisters present an exposure risk and potential
liability. Skyline Medical's STREAMWAY System fully automates the collection, measurement and disposal of waste fluids and is
designed to: 1) reduce overhead costs to hospitals and surgical centers; 2) improve compliance with OSHA and other regulatory
agency safety guidelines; 3) improve efficiency in the operating room, and radiology and endoscopy departments, thereby leading to
greater profitability; and 4) provide greater environmental stewardship by helping to eliminate the approximately 50 million
potentially disease-infected canisters that go into landfills each year in the U.S. In the fourth quarter of 2017, Skyline
Medical announced its intention to enter the precision medicine space through a strategic partnership with Helomics. As of February
1, 2018, the Company’s corporate name will be changed to Precision Therapeutics. For additional information, please visit www.skylinemedical.com.
Forward-looking Statements
Certain of the matters discussed in this announcement contain forward-looking statements that involve material risks to and
uncertainties in the Company's business that may cause actual results to differ materially from those anticipated by the statements
made herein. Such risks and uncertainties include risks related to the proposed joint ventures, including the need to negotiate the
definitive agreements for the joint ventures; possible failure to realize anticipated benefits of the joint ventures; and costs of
providing funding to the joint ventures. Other risks and uncertainties relating to the Company include, among other things, current
negative operating cash flows and a need for additional funding to finance our operating plan; the terms of any further financing,
which may be highly dilutive and may include onerous terms; unexpected costs and operating deficits, and lower than expected sales
and revenues; uncertain willingness and ability of customers to adopt new technologies and other factors that may affect further
market acceptance, if our product is not accepted by our potential customers, it is unlikely that we will ever become profitable;
adverse economic conditions; adverse results of any legal proceedings; the volatility of our operating results and financial
condition; inability to attract or retain qualified senior management personnel, including sales and marketing personnel; our
ability to establish and maintain the proprietary nature of our technology through the patent process, as well as our ability to
possibly license from others patents and patent applications necessary to develop products; the Company's ability to implement its
long range business plan for various applications of its technology; the Company's ability to enter into agreements with any
necessary marketing and/or distribution partners and with any strategic or joint venture partners; the impact of competition, the
obtaining and maintenance of any necessary regulatory clearances applicable to applications of the Company's technology; and
management of growth and other risks and uncertainties that may be detailed from time to time in the Company's reports filed with
the Securities and Exchange Commission, which are available for review at www.sec.gov. This is not a solicitation to buy or sell securities and does not purport to
be an analysis of the Company's financial position. See the Company's most recent Annual Report on Form 10-K, and subsequent
reports and other filings at www.sec.gov.
Contacts:
Skyline Medical
Carl Schwartz, Chief Executive Officer
(651) 389-4800
cschwartz@skylinemedical.com
Investors
KCSA Strategic Communications
Elizabeth Barker
(212) 896-1203
ebarker@kcsa.com