Applied DNA Secures Amendment to Master Services Agreement and Fourth Blanket Purchase Order from Linea™ COVID-19 Assay Kit Customer
Applied DNA Sciences (NASDAQ: APDN) announced an amendment to its Master Services Agreement, doubling its maximum value for COVID-19 Assay Kits. The agreement ensures continued access for a customer’s surveillance testing program, with a purchase order for 16,000 tests supporting in-person graduation ceremonies in May 2021. CEO Dr. James A. Hayward emphasized the importance of proactive monitoring amid increasing vaccination rates and new virus variants. The Linea™ COVID-19 Assay Kit is FDA EUA authorized for specific respiratory specimens, aiding in the detection of SARS-CoV-2.
- Master Services Agreement amendment doubled value for Assay Kits.
- Receipt of purchase order for 16,000 COVID-19 tests.
- Supports customer’s in-person graduation ceremonies in May 2021.
- Potential for assay kit obsolescence or reduced utility.
- Dependence on Emergency Use Authorization (EUA) for continued operation.
- Risks associated with regulatory approvals and ongoing clinical trials.
Applied DNA Sciences, Inc. (NASDAQ: APDN) (“Applied DNA” or the “Company”), a leader in Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR)-based DNA manufacturing, today announced that it secured an amendment to a Master Services Agreement (MSA) with an existing customer of its Linea™ COVID-19 Assay Kit (the “Assay Kit”). The amendment doubles the undisclosed maximal value of the MSA to ensure the customer’s continuing access to the Assay Kit for the customer’s pooled COVID-19 surveillance testing program. Concurrently, the Company announced the receipt of a purchase order for its Assay Kits and consumables to enable the customer to conduct 16,000 tests to be used for recurring surveillance testing and support the customer’s in-person graduation ceremonies in May 2021.
“The increase in MSA value and our receipt of a fourth purchase order speaks to the value our customer places on their continuing ability to proactively monitor their populations for SARS-CoV-2 spread via cost-effective, rapid turnaround time-to-results surveillance testing that is powered by our Assay Kit,” said Dr. James A. Hayward. “As society reopens thanks in large part due to growing vaccine availability, and people increasingly coming together, the need to monitor and manage virus spread is especially critical in light of the growing threat posed by coronavirus variants. We are immensely proud to continue to support our customers as the impact of increased vaccination alters the pandemic equilibrium.”
About the Linea™ COVID-19 Assay Kit and Pooled Surveillance Testing
The Linea™ COVID-19 Assay Kit is authorized by FDA EUA for the qualitative detection of nucleic acid from SARS-CoV-2 in respiratory specimens, including anterior nasal swabs, self-collected at a healthcare location or collected by a healthcare worker, and nasopharyngeal and oropharyngeal swabs, mid-turbinate nasal swabs, nasopharyngeal washes/aspirates or nasal aspirates, and bronchoalveolar lavage (BAL) specimens collected by a healthcare worker from individuals who are suspected of COVID-19 by their healthcare provider. The scope of the Linea COVID-19 Assay Kit EUA, as amended, is expressly limited to use consistent with the Instructions for Use by authorized laboratories, certified under the Clinical Laboratory Improvement Amendments of 1988 (CLIA) to perform high complexity tests. The EUA will be effective until the declaration that circumstances exist justifying the authorization of the emergency use of in vitro diagnostics for detection and/or diagnosis of COVID-19 is terminated or until the EUA’s prior termination or revocation. The diagnostic kit has not been FDA cleared or approved, and the EUA’s limited authorization is only for the detection of nucleic acid from SARS-CoV-2, not for any other viruses or pathogens.
The Company is offering surveillance testing in compliance with current CDC, FDA, and CMS guidances. The use of saliva and pooled sampling for surveillance testing, which has been internally validated by the Company in compliance with current surveillance testing guidances, is not included in the Company’s EUA authorization for the Linea COVID-19 Assay Kit.
About Applied DNA Sciences
Applied DNA is commercializing LinearDNA™, its proprietary, large-scale polymerase chain reaction (“PCR”)-based manufacturing platform that allows for the large-scale production of specific DNA sequences.
The LinearDNA platform has utility in the nucleic acid-based in vitro diagnostics and preclinical nucleic acid-based drug development and manufacturing market. The platform is used to manufacture DNA for customers as components of in vitro diagnostic tests and for preclinical nucleic acid-based drug development in the fields of adoptive cell therapies (CAR T and TCR therapies), DNA vaccines (anti-viral and cancer), RNA therapies, clustered regularly interspaced short palindromic repeats (CRISPR) based therapies, and gene therapies. Applied DNA has also established a COVID-19 diagnostic and testing offering that is in the early stages of commercialization and is grounded in the Company’s deep expertise in DNA.
The LinearDNA platform also has non-biologic applications, such as supply chain security, anti-counterfeiting and anti-theft technology. Key end-markets include textiles, pharmaceuticals and nutraceuticals, and cannabis, among others.
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The Company’s common stock is listed on NASDAQ under ticker symbol ‘APDN,’ and its publicly traded warrants are listed on OTC under ticker symbol ‘APPDW.’
Applied DNA is a member of the Russell Microcap® Index.
Forward-Looking Statements
The statements made by Applied DNA in this press release may be “forward-looking” in nature within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 and the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Forward-looking statements describe Applied DNA’s future plans, projections, strategies, and expectations, and are based on assumptions and involve a number of risks and uncertainties, many of which are beyond the control of Applied DNA. Actual results could differ materially from those projected due to its history of net losses, limited financial resources, limited market acceptance, the possibility that the assay kit could become obsolete or have its utility diminished, the uncertainties inherent in research and development, future clinical data and analysis, including whether any of Applied DNA’s or its partner’s diagnostic candidates will advance further in the preclinical research or clinical trial process, including receiving clearance from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (U.S. FDA) or equivalent foreign regulatory agencies to conduct clinical trials and whether and when, if at all, they will receive final approval from the U.S. FDA or equivalent foreign regulatory agencies, the unknown outcome of any applications or requests to U.S. FDA, equivalent foreign regulatory agencies and/or the New York State Department of Health, the unknown limited duration of any Emergency Use Authorization (EUA) approval from U.S. FDA, changes in guidances promulgated by the CDC, U.S. FDA and/or CMS relating to COVID-19 surveillance and diagnostic testing, disruptions in the supply of raw materials and supplies, and various other factors detailed from time to time in Applied DNA’s SEC reports and filings, including our Annual Report on Form 10-K filed on December 17, 2020, and Form 10-Q filed on February 11, 2021 and other reports we file with the SEC, which are available at www.sec.gov. Applied DNA undertakes no obligation to update publicly any forward-looking statements to reflect new information, events or circumstances after the date hereof or to reflect the occurrence of unanticipated events, unless otherwise required by law.
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FAQ
What is the significance of the MSA amendment for Applied DNA Sciences (APDN)?
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