Akers Biosciences, Inc. (NASDAQ: AKER) (AIM: AKR.L), (“Akers Bio”
or the "Company"), a developer of rapid health information
technologies, announces a leadership change, an update to the
Company’s business strategy, the settlement of its lawsuit with
Pulse Health LLC (“Pulse Health”) and the resignation of its
Nominated Adviser on the London Stock Exchange’s AIM market.
Appointment of Chief Executive
Officer
Howard R. Yeaton has been appointed to the
position of Chief Executive Officer effective immediately. Mr.
Yeaton’s role of Chief Executive Officer is not a board position
although he will work very closely with the Board of Directors and
will report to them.
Mr. Yeaton brings accounting and transaction
experience with respect to emerging public companies. He has over
30 years of senior financial and strategic business experience and
has served as a consultant to the Company since April, 2018.
Mr. Yeaton has been the Managing Principal of
Financial Consulting Strategies, LLC since 2003, a firm serving
principally early stage public companies with financial reporting
support and other related strategic services. Mr. Yeaton currently
serves as a director, Vice Chairman and Chairman of the audit
committee for Stewardship Financial Corporation, a community bank.
Mr. Yeaton has served as Interim Chief Financial Officer of Propel
Media, Inc. since 2014 and, from July 2014 to July 2015, Mr. Yeaton
served as Interim Chief Financial Officer of Energous Corporation,
a public company listed on the Nasdaq Capital Market; both clients
of Financial Consulting Strategies, LLC. In addition, prior to
founding Financial Consulting Strategies, LLC, Mr. Yeaton served in
various financial leadership positions for Konica and Teco Energy.
Mr. Yeaton began his career with Deloitte, an international
accounting and auditing firm. Mr. Yeaton has a BS in accounting
from Florida State University in Tallahassee, FL, and a Masters in
Business Administration from the University of Connecticut in
Storrs, CT.
John J. Gormally has resigned both as Chief
Executive Officer and as a member of the Board of Directors of the
Company effective immediately. The Board of Directors thanks Mr.
Gormally for his contribution to the Company since joining Akers
Bio in 2015 and its Board of Directors in 2017.
Strategic Update
Following a review of the Company’s commercial
and product development strategies, the Board of Directors has
determined that it is in the best interests of the Company to focus
primarily on the commercialization of its Particle
Immuno-Filtration Assay (PIFA®) Technology platform. PIFA®
technology is a cutting-edge, patented immunoassay method which
rapidly and accurately detects target antigens or antibodies. It is
the technology platform utilized in the Company’s core
commercialized products, the PIFA® Heparin/PF4 and PIFA® Pluss/PF4
rapid assays, which test for an allergic reaction to Heparin. These
products account for the significant majority of the Company’s
current revenues. The Company is taking steps to improve its market
presence for these products including the use of specialized
Independent Sales Representatives and through a program to educate
the marketplace through the preparation and publication of
additional clinical studies and physician seminars on the risks
associated with heparin induced thrombocytopenia. The Company will
continue to explore other commercial opportunities for the
deployment of PIFA® technology, which is also utlized in the
Company’s PIFA® PLUSS Chlamydia rapid assay in development.
Akers Bio will continue to manufacture
BreathScan Alcohol Detectors (based on the Company’s Micro Particle
Catalyzed (MPC®) Biosensor technology platform) and Tri-Cholesterol
products (based on the Company’s Rapid Enzymatic Assay (REA™)
technology platform).
Settlement of Pulse Health
Lawsuit
Akers Bio announces that it has reached a
settlement agreement with Pulse Health which had filed a lawsuit
against the Company on September 30, 2016 in United States Federal
District Court, District of Oregon, alleging a breach of contract
under the settlement agreement entered into by the Company and
Pulse Health on April 8, 2011. Pursuant to the settlement reached
between Pulse Health and Akers Bio, the Company will pay $930,000
to Pulse Health. Akers Bio has also agreed to a permanent
injunction and will not make, use, sell or offer to sell the
BreathScan OxiChek™ product, any product that detects aldehydes or
oxidative stress in exhaled human breath or breath condensate using
either basic fuchsin or sodium metabisulfite or any form, analog or
equivalent thereof, and the BreathScan Lync device, or any
equivalent thereof, as part of a test for aldehydes or oxidative
stress in human exhaled breath or breath condensate. The United
States District Court for the District of Oregon filed the
injunction on October 3, 2018, and the injunction was entered on
the docket on October 4, 2018. The Company does not anticipate a
material impact on revenues as a result of the withdrawal of the
BreathScan OxiChek™ product from sale.
Resignation of AIM Nominated
Adviser
finnCap Ltd, the Company’s Nominated Adviser on
the AIM market of the London Stock Exchange, gave the Company
formal three months’ notice of its resignation as the Company’s
Nominated Adviser and Broker on October 6, 2018. finnCap has also
informed the Company that its resignation will be accelerated so as
to take immediate effect if the whole Board of Directors does not
attend an AIM Rules briefing hosted by finnCap no later than 4.30
p.m. BST on October 12, 2018. The Board of Directors is working
with finnCap to ensure that this deadline is adhered to and that
the necessary arrangements are made for the AIM Rules briefing to
take place. Should finnCap cease to act as the Company's Nominated
Adviser and the Company does not appoint a replacement Nominated
Adviser, the Company's shares will be suspended from trading on AIM
with immediate effect. The Company would then have one further
month to appoint a replacement Nominated Adviser failing which the
admission of its AIM securities will be cancelled.
About Akers Biosciences,
Inc.
Akers Bio develops, manufactures, and supplies
rapid screening and testing products designed to deliver quicker
and more cost-effective healthcare information to healthcare
providers and consumers. The Company has advanced the science of
diagnostics while responding to major shifts in healthcare through
the development of several proprietary platform technologies. The
Company's state-of-the-art rapid diagnostic assays can be performed
virtually anywhere in minutes when time is of the essence. The
Company has aligned with major healthcare companies and high volume
medical product distributors to maximize product offerings, and to
be a major worldwide competitor in diagnostics.
Additional information on the Company and its
products can be found at www.akersbio.com. Follow us on Twitter
@AkersBio.
Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-Looking
Statements
Statements contained herein that are not based
upon current or historical fact are forward-looking in nature and
constitute forward-looking statements within the meaning of the
Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Such
forward-looking statements reflect the Company's expectations about
its future operating results, performance and opportunities that
involve substantial risks and uncertainties. Such statements may
include, without limitation, statements with respect to the
Company’s plans, compliance with the requirements of various
regulatory agencies and certain NASDAQ Stock Market listing rules,
objectives, projections, expectations and intentions and other
statements identified by words such as “projects,” “may,” “will,”
“could,” “would,” “should,” “believes,” “expects,” “anticipates,”
“estimates,” “intends,” “plans,” “potential” or similar
expressions, as they relate to the Company, its subsidiaries, or
its management. These statements are based upon the current beliefs
and expectations of the Company’s management and are subject to
significant risks and uncertainties, including those detailed in
the Company’s filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission.
Actual results, performance, prospects, and opportunities to may
differ materially from those set forth in, or implied by, the
forward-looking statements. These forward-looking statements
involve certain risks and uncertainties that are subject to change
based on various factors (many of which are beyond the Company’s
control). The Company undertakes no obligation to publicly update
any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new
information, future events or otherwise, except as required by
applicable law.
Enquiries:
Akers Biosciences, Inc.
Howard R. Yeaton, Chief Executive Officer and Interim Chief Financial Officer
Tel. +1 856 848 8698
Vigo Communications (Global Public Relations)
Ben Simons / Fiona Henson
Tel. +44 (0)20 7390 0234
Email: akers@vigocomms.com
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