Feb. 24, 2004 — BioForce Nanosciences Inc. (Profile, Web) said Tuesday it plans to launch two new products this year and reported record sales in January for its current line of nanoscale tools.

The Ames, Iowa-based company is preparing to release the NanoArrayer, a nanoscale surface patterning instrument, and ViriChip, a virus detection and identification product. The combined technologies are designed to improve the ability to uncover and characterize infectious agents and provide a means for monitoring response to disease therapies.

BioForce said it had record revenues in January for its atomic force microscope accessories that equaled one-quarter of its sales for all of 2003. While the company did not release sales figures, the amount was generating significant revenue and came without major marketing efforts, according to Laurence Russ, the company’s new president and chief executive. “What it says is the whole environment is starting to move, and it shows a dearth of competitors,” he said.

Russ, whose appointment was announced last week, replaces Gary Alianell, who left the company at the end of 2003. Russ held executive positions with Johnson & Johnson, as well as research and management roles with several other pharmaceutical and life science firms.