October 30, 2007 — /PRNewswire/ — NEW YORK, NY and MONTREAL, QUEBEC, CANADA — ICBS Limited today announced the acquisition of 30 percent interest in Bacteria Bank Ltd.

Bacteria Bank Ltd., is a biomedical company that owns more than ten thousand cryogenically stored bacteria for use in medical research, located in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. The company is headed by Dr. Karl Weiss, a world-renowned bacteriologist.

Dr. Karl Weiss is a microbiologist and infectious diseases specialist at Maisonneuve-Rosemont Hospital in Montreal. He is also associate clinical professor at the Faculty of Medicine at University of Montreal and the director of pharmacological research at Maisonneuve-Rosemont Hospital. He is also an associate member of the division of infectious diseases at the Jewish General Hospital in Montreal and an adjunct-professor of medicine at McGill University.

Bacteria bank has a unique collection of more than 10,000 frozen bacteria, which can be used for many different purposes.

1. Susceptibility testing of potentially promising antimicrobial agents developed by biotech companies or researchers in universities.
2. Susceptibility testing of new antibiotics against specific and emerging pathogens such as MRSA (methicillin-resistant Staphyloccocus aureus) and VRE (vancomycin-resistant Enterococcus).
3. Susceptibility testing against a wide array of gram-negative agents (E. coli, salmonella, shigella, and other gastrointestinal pathogens responsible for million of deaths every year in the world).
4. Susceptibility testing of new agents against Streptococcus pneumoniae responsible for the majority of sinusitis, otitis media, pneumonia, and some forms of bronchitis. In North America only, there are over 300 million of antibiotic prescriptions in the outpatients setting, and S. pneumoniae is the number one target overall by far.
5. Bacteria useful for the development of newly designed genetically derived products (human and animal hormones, growth factors, cytokines…)
6. Bacteria useful for teaching purposes (pharmaceutical companies, universities, and medical schools).

Speaking from the corporate head office in Montreal, Garth McIntosh, president and CEO of ICBS, says, “This acquisition will further strengthen our position in the biomedical industry.” ICBS also owns 100 percent of Canadian Bio Med Systems Ltd. McIntosh further states, “I want to thank all of our shareholders that have supported us in the past year, we are working very hard to make this a profitable year for all. Thank you all for your encouragement and support.”
www.bacteriabank.com

Source: INTER CANADIAN BUSINESS SERVICE