BUSINESS WIRE - 44 Montgomery St, 39th Floor, San Francisco, CA 94104; Tel: (415) 986-4422; FAX: (415) 788-5335 - Wednesday, 20 November 1996.
Data presented in Boston at the American Water Works Association's `1996 Water Quality Technology Conference' by ImmuCell Corp. (NASDAQ:ICCC;BSE:IMU) announced that data presented yesterday at the "1996 Water Quality Technology Conference" in Boston, sponsored by the American Water Works Association (AWWA), demonstrate the effectiveness of the Crypto-Scan (vorte x flow filtration/immuno-magnetic separation) process test to detect the presence of Cryptosporidium oocysts in public water supplies.
The data was presented by Colin R. Fricker, Ph.D., microbiology and laboratory manager of UK-based Thames Water Utilities, during a technical session of the conference on Tuesday, Nov. 19. Fricker's presentation was entitled: "Simultaneous Concentrations and Separations of Protozoan Parasites and Viruses Using Vortex Flow Filtration and Immunomagnetic Separation."
"Our research has demonstrate the usefulness of vortex flow filtration combined with immuno-magnetic separation for the detection of protozoan parasites in water," said Fricker. "We believe that currently this is the most promising approach for this difficult analysis."
In June 1996, Fricker presented data at the AWWA Annual Meeting in Toronto showing the ability of Crypto-Scan to recover oocysts more efficiently and more consistently than other available testing methods used to monitor water for the presence of Cryptosporidium.
"The existing technology to monitor water for this deadly parasite (Cryptosporidium) needs improvement," said Thomas C. Hatch, ImmuCell's president and CEO, "and there is a dire need for a test that can accurately identify this hard-to-detect and harmful contaminant. Health experts are beginning to recognize the strength of this new technology relative to existing technologies and appreciate the impact Crypto-Scan could have on the quality of drinking water worldwide."
Cryptosporidium causes severe diarrhea and can lead to death in immune-compromised people. Cryptosporidium parvum has become more widely known since 403,000 Milwaukeeans were infected by drinking water contaminated with this microscopic parasite. One hundred persons -- most of them immune-compromised or otherwise susceptible to illness -- died in the outbreak.
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta, nearly 1,000 persons each year die, and another million people become sick, from microbial illnesses associated with contaminated drinking water. Other estimates have put annual deaths as high as 1,200 and estimated illnesses at more than 7 million, many of which are never reported to doctors.
"I certainly think that it is a reasonable way to go," said Fricker. "One of the benefits is that we can take different size samples and process them effectively at treatment plants rather than having to take them into the lab...With Crypto-Scan, it is quite possible to do everything in a 24-hour time period."
The Crypto-Scan test utilizes a patented vortex flow filtration technology developed by Membrex Inc. of Fairfield, N.J., to concentrate water samples, and then uses immuno-magnetic separation technology developed by ImmuCell to further concentrate and clean up the samples for detection of Cryptosporidium oocysts by microscopy. ImmuCell has a patent pending on the combined technology. Both companies have licensed their technology to a joint venture known as "Clearwater Diagnostics Company, LLC."
The joint venture intends to commercialize Crypto-Scan by early next year, either by licensing the product to an environmental-testing company in return for licensing fees and royalties or by raising money for the joint venture to commercialize Crypto-Scan and follow-on products directly. ImmuCell and Membrex currently are evaluating both of these options.
ImmuCell Corp. is a biotechnology company developing and manufacturing an alternative to antibiotics and vaccines -- milk-derived passive antibody products -- to prevent and/or treat gastrointestinal diseases in both humans and animals.
CONTACT: ImmuCell Corp. Michael F. Brigham, 207/878-2770 or Ronald Trahan Associates Ronald C. Trahan Jeffrey N. Goodman, 508/651-1180
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