SAN ANTONIO--(BUSINESS WIRE)--bioAffinity Technologies, Inc. (Nasdaq: BIAF; BIAFW) (“bioAffinity” or the “Company”), a biotechnology company focused on the need for noninvasive tests for the detection of early-stage lung cancer and other lung diseases, today announced that William Bauta, Ph.D., has been appointed Chief Science Officer. Before joining bioAffinity in 2016 as Senior Vice President of Research and Development, Dr. Bauta was the Associate Director of Science at Genzyme Corporation and held a similar position at Ilex Products, Inc., where he was responsible for the discovery, development and FDA approval of therapeutics in the companies’ pipelines, and Manager of Medicinal and Process Chemistry at Southwest Research Institute.
Dr. Bauta is responsible for multiple Company inventions and patents supporting bioAffinity’s diagnostic and therapeutic advancements, including improvements to optimize CyPath® Lung, the Company’s noninvasive test to detect early-stage lung cancer, that both improved performance and cut costs. His discoveries have expanded the Company’s patent portfolio and added to a growing list of publications. In addition to bioAffinity patents on which he is a named inventor, he holds multiple healthcare-related patents and has published in more than a dozen scientific journals, including the journal Science.
“Dr. Bauta brings both scientific rigor and business acumen to the CSO position as we accelerate the commercial rollout of our CyPath® Lung test and expand our development pipeline. He will work with an exceptional scientific team who developed our high throughput, automated diagnostic platform to accurately analyze the lung microenvironment, allowing us to advance new technologies that can detect early-stage diseases. He is focused on making our products important steps in the care pathway for diagnosing early-stage disease,” bioAffinity President and CEO Maria Zannes said.
Dr. Bauta earned his Ph.D. from the University of Chicago where he received fellowships from the National Science Foundation and the American Chemical Society. His post-doctoral studies were at the University of Texas at Austin under a National Institutes of Health fellowship.
Dr. Bauta succeeds Vivienne I. Rebel, M.D., Ph.D. who retired from her position on Oct. 31, 2024, as Executive Vice President and Chief Science and Medical Officer. Dr. Rebel joined the Company in 2016 and led the research and development of CyPath® Lung.
“We wish Dr. Rebel the very best in retirement,” said Zannes. “Vivienne has made an indelible mark on us all. Her scientific precision and innovative spirit will remain a hallmark of bioAffinity Technologies.”
About CyPath® Lung
CyPath® Lung uses proprietary advanced flow cytometry and artificial intelligence (AI) to identify cell populations in patient sputum that indicate malignancy. Automated data analysis helps determine if cancer is present or if the patient is cancer-free. CyPath® Lung incorporates a fluorescent porphyrin that is preferentially taken up by cancer and cancer-related cells. Clinical study results demonstrated that CyPath® Lung had 92% sensitivity, 87% specificity and 88% accuracy in detecting lung cancer in patients at high risk for the disease who had small lung nodules less than 20 millimeters. Diagnosing and treating early-stage lung cancer can improve outcomes and increase patient survival. For more information, visit www.cypathlung.com.
About bioAffinity Technologies, Inc.
bioAffinity Technologies, Inc. addresses the need for noninvasive diagnosis of early-stage cancer and other diseases of the lung and broad-spectrum cancer treatments. The Company’s first product, CyPath® Lung, is a noninvasive test that has shown high sensitivity, specificity and accuracy for the detection of early-stage lung cancer. CyPath® Lung is marketed as a Laboratory Developed Test (LDT) by Precision Pathology Laboratory Services, a subsidiary of bioAffinity Technologies. For more information, visit www.bioaffinitytech.com.
Forward-Looking Statements
Certain statements in this press release constitute "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of the federal securities laws. Words such as "may," "might," "will," "should," "believe," "expect," "anticipate," "estimate," "continue," "predict," "forecast," "project," "plan," "intend" or similar expressions, or statements regarding intent, belief, or current expectations, are forward-looking statements. These forward-looking statements are based upon current estimates and assumptions and include statements regarding accelerating the commercial rollout of our CyPath® Lung test, expanding our development pipeline, advancing new technologies that can detect early-stage diseases, and making our products important steps in the care pathway for diagnosing early-stage disease. These forward-looking statements are subject to various risks and uncertainties, many of which are difficult to predict, that could cause actual results to differ materially from current expectations and assumptions from those set forth or implied by any forward-looking statements. Important factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from current expectations include, among others, the ability of the Company to accelerate the commercial rollout of its CyPath® Lung test, expand its development pipeline, advance new technologies that can detect early-stage diseases and the other factors discussed in the Company’s Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2023, and its subsequent filings with the SEC, including subsequent periodic reports on Forms 10-Q and 8-K. Such forward-looking statements are based on facts and conditions as they exist at the time such statements are made and predictions as to future facts and conditions. While the Company believes these forward-looking statements are reasonable, readers of this press release are cautioned not to place undue reliance on any forward-looking statements. The information in this release is provided only as of the date of this release, and the Company does not undertake any obligation to update any forward-looking statement relating to matters discussed in this press release, except as may be required by applicable securities laws.
