Case Study
Pressure Biosciences (PBIO): Emerging Biotech with Strong Corporate Governance
By Stan Vick

Pressure Biosciences (PBIO): Emerging Biotech with Strong Corporate Governance

  • 11thestate's Corporate Governance Score (CGS) for $PBIO is a 4.9/5 reflecting high-level corporate governance, controlling shareholders' and seniors’ strong capital commitments, and transparent IR communication.
  • PBI's largest shareholder exchanged $10M+ of its senior secured debt into unsecured preferred stock at a price of $2.5, which represents almost 100% premium to the current price.
  • According to filings, for its whole history Pressure Biosciences has not faced class action lawsuits from investors.
  • $PBIO has received a contract worth $1.5M for Nanoemulsified CBD Spray and $0.6M for PCT instruments bringing good momentum for revenue growth.
  • BaroFold technology, PST System, and the UST platform can secure the company a leadership position in the market and make PBI the perfect M&A target for biopharmaceutical and cannabis majors.

About Pressure Biosciences

Pressure Biosciences Inc. (PBIO) is a company that develops and sells pressure-based solutions for the life sciences industry. The company's patented pressure cycling technology (PCT) uses high pressure to break open cells and release the biomolecules inside, such as DNA, RNA, and proteins. This technology has many applications, including sample preparation for mass spectrometry, protein and peptide analysis, and drug discovery.

PBI also offers a line of instruments and consumables for use in the PCT process, as well as contract research services. To date, the company has installed over 300 PCT systems in approximately 200 sites worldwide.

Strong Management Performance

PBI has completed several deals and partnerships in the recent few months.

  • On March 28, 2023, $PBIO’s subsidiary PBI Agrochem, Inc. announced it has shipped and billed an initial $130,000 order for its potent, environmentally responsible nematode control product.
  • On March 22, 2023, Pressure Biosciences (PBIO) received a contract worth $1.5M for Nanoemulsified CBD Topical Spray with CBD Supply MD, one of the largest and best-known retail suppliers of CBD products in the multi-state mid-Atlantic region.
  • On February 1, 2023, PBIO announced entrance into an exclusive distribution agreement for China with PRS International Trade for the purchase of 16 Barocycler EXT units for a total of nearly $600,000, with a commitment to purchase additional units and related consumables in 2023.

Firm Leaders’ Commitment

Although the stock isn't doing good in the past years the management chose to invest in research till it pays off.

In early March 2023, Pressure Biosciences announced that Company's largest shareholder exchanged the first $10 million of seniority debt into equity expressing confidence and support for the Company. The debt exchanged into equity represents over 30% of the Company's total outstanding debt held by all investors through February 2023. The exchange of debt to equity was consummated at a value of $2.50 per share of Common Stock, which is an approximate 100% premium over the Company's current market price.

The management of the Company is known for its proactive approach in keeping investors informed about all the decisions and plans, utilizing every possible opportunity to enhance investor relations. The Leaders prioritize building a positive reputation and goodwill for the company, engaging in relevant conferences, forming partnerships, and announcing ambitious goals. While the company has successfully met its planned targets over the past three years, there is only one goal that remains uncertain - the uplisting to NASDAQ, which was expected to be achieved in 2022. However, the Company has not yet provided an update on this key performance indicator.

Furthermore, according to filings, for its whole history Pressure Biosciences (PBIO)  has not faced class action lawsuits from investors.

11thestate.com, a first-in-class investors advocacy platform, assigned a high Corporate Governance Score of 4.9/5 reflecting outstanding corporate governance, controlling shareholders’ and seniors’ strong capital commitments, and transparent IR communication.

Outstanding Business Prospects

BaroFold technology
Protein-based productions face a major challenge in applying tremendous pressure for keeping proteins in their native form and aggregation, thus improving production efficiency. If pressure isn't high enough, proteins will misfold leading to decreased quality. Based on data published by PBI, the BaroFold platform uses high pressure to keep protein molecules disaggregated in their native conformation.

Protein-based drugs take as much as 22% of the modern pharmaceutical market and there is no reason to assume that the share will decrease in the future. Current therapeutic regimens against oncological, rheumatological, and many orphan diseases involve the use of monoclonal antibody drugs, which are proteins in nature. Moreover, most if not all research laboratories in biotech use in their everyday routine protein compounds, provided by lab reagents suppliers such as ThermoFisher (NYSE: TMO) and Abcam (NASDAQ: ABCM).

BaroFold platform could be the key to profits of millions of dollars in the global bioprocess technology market which is estimated to reach $44 billion by 2026. It offers a solution for a major issue in a multi-billion market of protein drugs and compounds. Until now, BaroFold isn't marketed properly as it's still evolving and only known by word of mouth, according to PBI’s CEO Mr. R. Schumacher, yet it gained high demand.

Ultra-Shear Technology
This modern technology applies ultra-high pressure with sheer force to produce nanoemulsions of oil-like hydrophobic compounds in water. Normally, oil-like products are insoluble in water. UST technology allows the making of nano-emulsions with extremely small oil droplets uniformly distributed in the water. This is a proprietary PBI technology currently protected by 6 patents in the USA, China, and Australia.

UST is getting the game to the next level by offering this solution. The number of fields to exploit with this technology is ridiculous as it redefines the basis of competition in multiple multi-billion-dollar industries, from pharmaceuticals to nutraceuticals, cosmeceuticals, food/beverage, agrochemicals, and more.

This technology has the potential to be a gold mine for PBIO since the demand for it is increasing in multiple industries. To give a hint about how this technology is not only a game-changer in business but rather in medicine, let's look at one of its applications in medicine:

  1. Astaxanthin is a powerful antioxidant that is 6000 times stronger than vitamin C. It has been used to treat many diseases caused by oxidative stress and free radicals, but its absorption is low if not taken in a lipid-based formulation. PBI has developed a UST platform to produce Nanoemulsions of astaxanthin in water with very small oil droplets, resulting in a clear ruby-red liquid that disperses freely. Studies have shown that these nanoemulsions remain stable for at least four months at room temperature. Global vitamin C market size according to different sources is between $1.5 and $10 billion.
  2. Retinol, a form of Vitamin A, is a popular ingredient in many skincare products, such as lotions, creams, and serums. It is renowned for its antioxidant properties and its ability to fight wrinkles and tighten skin. Retinol is also the go-to choice for acne treatment. Although retinol can be an irritant to the skin, derivatives such as retinoate were found to be more effective and less irritating. Dr. Adrienne Denese, a renowned skincare visionary and anti-aging pioneer, has sold over $500M of her Dr. Denese SkinScience's science-driven skincare products over the past 20 years. After testing PBI's Ultra Shear-nano emulsified retinoate serum, she expressed her astonishment at its profound skin tightening and wrinkle-reducing effects. Compared to her already effective serums, Dr. Denese found that the Ultra Shear-processed retinoate performance far surpassed anything she had ever seen before. She believes that PBI's Ultra Shear platform is an industry-redefining innovation. According to the latest updates, the global skincare market size in 2022 was about $135.83 billion and is expected to reach $196.20 billion in 2030.

Cannabis Industry
PBIO is now penetrating the cannabis industry with its UST platform and recently announced in January 2023 results from initial consumer focus group testing of a THC Nano emulsion Oral Spray prepared using UST. Cannabinoids like THC are oil-soluble molecules that are difficult to absorb when ingested due to our water-based bodies. Edibles typically take 30-60 minutes for the first effects and 60-90 minutes to reach peak effects, leading to impatient consumers accidentally overdosing two hours later. Smoking and vaping provide more immediate effects, but these methods can have long-term negative respiratory health consequences. PBI partnered with Crème De Canna to manufacture its oral spray.  Crème De Canna is a CA-licensed manufacturer and long-established provider of innovative, high-quality cannabis products in CA. Ultra Shear platform has been successfully used in California to create a THC Oral Spray with extreme nanoemulsions, leading to fast-acting effects between 1-10 minutes, peaking in 15-60 minutes. This has been validated by multiple test groups, and the Ultra Shear Nano emulsion THC Oral Spray is expected to produce substantial revenues for PBI and its partners in the current quarter. The global cannabis market size was valued at $22.5 billion in 2021 and is anticipated to grow to $82.3 billion by 2027.

Conclusion

Pressure Biosciences (PBIO) is still a pre-profit micro-cap company related to many business risks. However, its breakthrough platforms and momentum in new partnerships could be the beginning of a new era for the company in multi-billion markets. If the Company manages to maintain corporate governance and investor relations at the same high level, then there is a significant opportunity to capitalize on its business. By now, 11thestate.com, a first-in-class investors advocacy platform, assigned to $PBIO a high Corporate Governance Score of 4.9/5 reflecting outstanding corporate governance, controlling shareholders’ and seniors’ strong capital commitments, and transparent IR communication.

Disclaimer: The author and/or affiliates hold minority positions in PBIO's stocks.

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