PRESS
RELEASE
BioLife Solutions Inc. and Corning Inc. Announce Increased Cell Performance Through Product Combination
CORNING® CELLBIND® SURFACE USED WITH BIOLIFE SOLUTIONS' CRYOSTOR™ OFFERS 58-PERCENT INCREASE IN 24-HOUR POST-PRESERVATION CELL SURVIVAL
CORNING, NY – October 31, 2006 – BioLife Solutions Inc. (OTC Bulletin Board: BLFS), a leading manufacturer of proprietary cryopreservation solutions for cells and tissue preservation, and Corning Incorporated (NYSE: GLW) today announced the publication of a report that describes the benefits of the combination of the BioLife CryoStor™CS5 with Corning's CellBIND® Surface. The integration of these complementary technologies resulted in a significant increase in the survival and attachment of LNCaP cells as compared to traditional solutions and tissue culture treated (TCT) surfaces. The CryoStor/Corning CellBIND Surface combined approach offers a distinct advantage to the pharmaceutical, drug discovery, and toxicity testing industries by enabling researchers to reduce time and effort presently required to collect, store, retrieve and utilize high-quality cryopreserved cells. This thereby increases productivity and costeffectiveness of in vitro screening processes. "This validation of serum-free and protein-free CryoStor provides an important endorsement of our preservation technology platform and intellectual property portfolio," said Mike Rice, chief executive officer, BioLife Solutions. "The study jointly performed by Corning and BioLife scientists demonstrates fundamental advantages that the combined products offer to a broad industry base, including drug discovery and cellular therapy."
Data from independent experiments showed that the Cryostor solution and Corning CellBIND surface product combination offered a 58-percent increase in postpreservation cell survival when compared to traditional tissue culture surface and serum and protein based freezing media. "It's important to note that cell survival was measured 24 hours post-thaw, a much more relevant performance metric than immediate post-thaw survival measurement, which often gives researchers a false sense of practical cell function and viability," added John G. Baust, PhD, chief scientific officer,
BioLife Solutions. "These independently verified results confirm the benefits of using the Corning CellBIND surface combined with the protein-free BioLife CryoStorCS5 freezing solution to improve the survival of LNCaP cells," said Mark Beck, vice president and general manager Corning Life Sciences. "Our relationship with BioLife further demonstrates our commitment to developing innovative technologies and/or partnering with industry
leaders to provide our global customers with the solutions and expertise they require to improve performance and results."
The report, titled "Enhanced Survival of LNCaP Cells Following Cryopreservation Using the CryoStor CS5 Preservation Solutions and Corning CellBIND Surface," was coauthored by Corning Life Sciences and BioLife Solutions scientists and will appear in an upcoming issue of Genetic Engineering News. Additionally, a Corning application note (SnAPPShot) on the performance results can be accessed by visiting the following link on
the Corning website: http://www.corning.com/lifesciences/technical_information/techdocs/snappshots_084
_lncap_cryostor _cellbind.pdf
The CryoStor family of preservation solutions represents the next generation of cryopreservation (freeze) media. Designed to prepare and preserve cells in ultra-low temperature environments (-80°C to -196°C), CryoStor provides a safe, protective environment for cells and tissues during the freezing, storage, and thawing process. Through modulating the cellular biochemical response to the cryopreservation process, CryoStor provides for enhanced cell viability and functionality while eliminating the need to include serum, proteins or high levels of cytotoxic agents.
The Corning CellBIND surface is the first novel cell culture surface treatment in more than 20 years. The surface enhances attachment, making it easier to grow fastidious cells under difficult conditions including reduced-serum and serum-free medium, and resulting in higher cell yields. Developed by Corning scientists, this patented (US Patent # 6,617,152) technology uses a microwave process for treating the culture surface. This
new process improves cell attachment by incorporating significantly more oxygen into the cell culture surface, rendering it more hydrophilic and increasing surface stability.
About Corning Incorporated
Corning Incorporated is a diversified technology company that concentrates its efforts on high-impact growth opportunities. Corning combines its expertise in specialty glass, ceramic materials, polymers and the manipulation of the properties of light, with strong process and manufacturing capabilities to develop, engineer and commercialize significant innovative products for the telecommunications, information display, environmental, semiconductor, and life sciences industries.
This news release contains forward-looking statements as that term is defined in the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These forward-looking statements include any statements that relate to the intent, belief, plans or expectations of the Company or its management, or that are not a statement of historical fact. Any forward-looking statements in this news release are based on current expectations and beliefs and are subject to numerous risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially. Some of the specific factors that could cause BioLife Solutions' actual results to differ materially are discussed in the Company's recent filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. BioLife Solutions disclaims any obligation to update any forward-looking statements as a result of developments occurring after the date of this press release.