- Chaired by Dr. Brooks Cash, Chief of Gastroenterology and Hepatology at the University of Texas Health Center at Houston
- Scientific Advisory Board to guide on programs to screen and test patients in US and other countries where colorectal cancer screening is limited due to cost or insufficient laboratory infrastructure
- Biomerica’s two-minute at home test detects fecal occult (hidden) blood, an early warning sign of colorectal cancer
- At home test is now available at Walmart and other retailers
IRVINE, Calif., Nov. 19, 2021 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Biomerica Inc. (NASDAQ: BMRA) today announced that Dr. Brooks Cash, one the nation’s most recognized leaders in Gastroenterology medicine, has agreed to chair Biomerica’s newly formed Colorectal Cancer Scientific Advisory Board (“SAB”). The SAB will guide and help expand the use of the EZ Detect product in Colorectal Cancer screenings and reaching underserved patient populations. Other key opinion leaders in the Gastroenterology field will be joining Dr. Cash on this SAB.
Colorectal cancer (“CRC”) is the second most common cause of cancer death in the United States. In 2020, an estimated 147,950 individuals were diagnosed with CRC and an estimated 53,200 died from the disease, including 17,930 cases and 3,640 deaths in individuals under the age of 50.
Brooks Cash, M.D., serves as Chief of the Gastroenterology, Hepatology, and Nutrition Division at the University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston. Dr. Cash was previously Chief of the Gastroenterology Division at the University of South Alabama in Mobile, AL. Dr. Cash also served for 24 years in the United States Navy, and was stationed at Bethesda Naval Hospital and the Walter Reed National Military Medical Center in the Washington, D.C. area. During his time at Bethesda Naval and Walter Reed he served as Chief of Gastroenterology, Chief of Medicine, and finally as the Deputy Commander for Medicine at both institutions.
Dr. Cash is a Diplomat of the American Board of Gastroenterology. He is a Fellow of the American College of Physicians, American College of Gastroenterology, American Gastroenterological Association, and the American Society for Gastrointestinal Endoscopy. He has been course director for national ACG Postgraduate meetings. Dr. Cash has also served on the Rome Foundation Committee for Functional Gastrointestinal Disorders and has authored over 150 articles and book chapters on a wide variety of gastrointestinal topics including irritable bowel syndrome, chronic constipation, opioid induced constipation, colorectal cancer screening, CT colonography, and acid-peptic disorders. He serves as an Associate Editor for the American Journal of Gastroenterology, is an editorial board member and reviewer for multiple internal medicine and gastroenterology medical journals, and is a sought-after lecturer at national and international scientific meetings.
Biomerica’s EZ Detect colorectal screening product is the simplest at home test to detect occult (hidden) blood in patient stools, an early warning sign of colorectal cancer. The test does not require handling of stools or dietary restrictions. An EZ Detect pad is dropped onto the toilet water surface after a bowel movement. A change in the pad’s color to blue, which would appear within two minutes, indicates the presence of blood in the stool and need for further medical attention. The pad is then simply flushed.
Zackary Irani, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, stated, “We are excited to have Dr. Cash chair our Colorectal Screening Scientific Advisory Board to assist Biomerica with guiding our FDA cleared diagnostic test to help patients suffering from gastroenterology problems including colorectal cancer. We understand the importance of working closely with a strong scientific advisory board to assist us in driving the development and advancement of important diagnostic tests. This is evidenced by the initial success of our InFoods® IBS diagnostic guided therapy, in which our scientific advisory board played a vital role. With the addition of Doctor Cash and other SAB members, we are building an equally strong scientific advisory board in the colorectal cancer space to help expand the use of the EZ Detect product and to potentially improve the lives of millions of people worldwide.”
About Biomerica (NASDAQ: BMRA)
Biomerica, Inc. (www.biomerica.com) is a global biomedical technology company that develops, patents, manufactures and markets advanced diagnostic and therapeutic products used at the point of care (in home and in physicians’ offices) and in hospital/clinical laboratories for detection and/or treatment of medical conditions and diseases. The Company’s products are designed to enhance the health and well-being of people, while reducing total healthcare costs. Biomerica’s primary focus is on gastrointestinal and inflammatory diseases where the Company has multiple diagnostic and therapeutic products in development.
The Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 provides a “safe harbor” for forward-looking statements. Certain information included in this press release (as well as information included in oral statements or other written statements made or to be made by Biomerica) contains statements that are forward-looking, such as statements relating to the efficacy of the Company’s EZ Detect product and other tests, FDA clearance, CE Mark, and other regulatory clearances needed to sell any of the Company’s products, the potential licensing of the Company’s products to third parties, the rapidity of testing results, uniqueness of the Company’s products, test result accuracy of products, screening for colorectal cancer, safety of the Company’s products, expected completion of clinical studies, pricing of the Company’s test kits, demand for domestic or international orders, patient populations that can be served by the Company’s products, additional individuals who may join the Company’s Scientific Advisory Boards and the roll these individuals may play in the company’s future success, potential revenues from the sale of current or future products, availability of the Company’s test kits, patent protection and freedom to operate on any of the Company’s products or technologies, future production costs and overhead, sales and administrative costs, R&D expenditures, materials costs, needed inventory reserves, collectability of receivables, legal costs and other extraordinary costs. Such forward-looking information involves important risks and uncertainties that could significantly affect anticipated results, in the future, including, without limitation: earnings and other financial results; results of studies testing the efficacy of the Company’s InFoods tests and other products; regulatory approvals necessary prior to commercialization of the Company’s products; availability of the Company’s test kits and other products; capacity, resource and other constraints on our suppliers; dependence on our third party manufacturers; dependence on international shipping carriers; governmental import/export regulations; demand for our various tests and other products; competition from other similar products and from competitors that have significantly more financial and other resources available to them; governmental virus control regulations that make it difficult or impossible for the company to maintain current operations; regulations and the Company’s ability to obtain patent protection on any aspects of its rapid test technologies. Accordingly, such results may differ materially from those expressed in any forward-looking statements made by or on behalf of Biomerica. Additionally, potential risks and uncertainties include, among others, fluctuations in the Company’s operating results due to its business model and expansion plans, downturns in international and or national economies, the Company’s ability to raise additional capital, the competitive environment in which the Company will be competing, and the Company’s dependence on strategic relationships. The Company is under no obligation to update any forward-looking statements after the date of this release.
Corporate Contact:
John Nesbett /Jennifer Belodeau
IMS Investor Relations
203.972.9200
jnesbett@institutionalms.com
Source: Biomerica