WARF: Start-up BioSentinel launches second product for “real time” detection of deadly botulinum toxins

Contacts: Julissa Salamanca, 949-273-5409, jsalamanca@biosentinelpharma.com

Dr. Bill Checovich, 608-334-1778, bchecovich@biosentinelpharma.com

Janet L. Kelly, 608.890-1491, jkelly@warf.org

MADISON, WI – BioSentinel Pharmaceuticals, a start-up biodefense company founded in 2007 and based on University of Wisconsin-Madison technology licensed from the Wisconsin Alumni Research Foundation (WARF), has released its second product, BoTest™ B/D/F/G Botulinum Neurotoxin Kit (BoTest™ B/D/F/G). This new product provides research labs the first rapid and accurate assay for detecting the B, D, F and G serotypes of botulinum neurotoxin, the most poisonous substance known in the world. With the addition of this kit to the company’s first product, BoTest™ A/E, released last April, BioSentinel Pharmaceuticals now offers in vitro detection kits for six of the seven serotypes of botulinum neurotoxin.

BoTest™ B/D/F/G detects the proteolytic activity of botulinum strains by using a unique fluorescence-based substrate. This technique allows for real-time and endpoint detection of the toxins and offers an approximately 30-fold increase in sensitivity compared to other botulinum neurotoxin serotype B proteolytic assays on the market. It is the only assay on the market for the detection of serotypes D, F, and G.

“President Obama has directed the federal government to plan and prepare a rapid response of medical countermeasures to any biological attack on the American people,” said Congresswoman Tammy Baldwin (D-WI). “The key first step in such a response is rapid detection of a threat and BioSentinel’s new technology will serve to detect botulism toxins. BioSentinel’s work will help save the lives of our troops in the field and our people at home,” said Baldwin who secured federal funds to support BioSentinel’s research.”

The BoTest™ assays are intended for non-clinical research at academic, government, and pharmaceutical laboratories where an easy-to-use assay is required for drug-studies and discovery, quantification of toxin activity, and basic research studies.

“BioSentinel is rapidly reaching its goal of transforming basic research from the laboratory of Edwin Chapman at the University of Wisconsin into commercially viable products that will contribute to America’s ability to defend itself against bioterrorism,” said Michael Cannon, Senior Managing Partner, BPA and BioSentinel.

“BioSentinel’s ability to rapidly commercialize nascent university technologies is very encouraging,” said Craig Heim, start-up licensing manager for WARF, the patent and licensing organization for UW-Madison. “The company now has launched two innovative products in under three years of operation, which is unusually rapid and, more importantly, will contribute toward making the world a safer place.”

BioSentinel Pharmaceuticals LLC (BioSentinel) was founded to develop tools for the detection of botulinum neurotoxins and to use those tools for biodefense purposes. BioSentinel has ongoing collaborations with U.S. Army Medical Institute of Chemical Defense (USAMRICD), US Army Medical Research Institute of Infectious Disease (USAMRIID), USGS National Wildlife Health Center, UW-Madison, the Wisconsin Security Research Consortium and private laboratories aimed at furthering botulinum neurotoxin research and eliminating the threat of botulinum neurotoxins as a bioterrorism weapon. More information about BioSentinel, as well as BoTest™ and how it can be ordered, is available at: http://www.biosentinelpharma.com.

This press release should not be regarded as including projections or other forward-looking statements regarding future events or the future financial performance of BioSentinel, LLC. This document does not constitute or form part of any offer or invitation to sell or issue, or any solicitation of any offer to purchase or subscribe for, any shares or other securities of BioSentinel, LLC, nor shall any part of it nor the fact of its distribution form part of or be relied on in connection with any contract or investment decision relating thereto, nor does it constitute a recommendation regarding the securities of BioSentinel, LLC.