WILMINGTON, Mass., Jan. 6, 2014 /PRNewswire/ — Implant Sciences Corporation (IMSC), a high technology supplier of systems and sensors for homeland security and defense markets, announced today that The Manufacturing Institute will award Implant Sciences’ Vice President, Manufacturing and Technical Services, Brenda Baron, with the Women in Manufacturing STEP (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Production) Award. The STEP Awards honor women who have demonstrated excellence and leadership in their careers and represent all levels of the manufacturing industry, from the factory-floor to the C suite.

Implant Sciences’ Vice President of Manufacturing and Technical Services, Brenda Baron stated, “I am honored to receive this award and to be included alongside the other recipients, who are truly the leading women in American manufacturing. I am proud to be part of the team at Implant Sciences, which has given me every opportunity to thrive professionally and grow the manufacturing organization from the ground up. Driven by a passion for excellence, our entire organization is focused on quality and cost effectiveness, with a deep commitment to keeping manufacturing in the United States.”

“Brenda has driven a culture of operational excellence at Implant Sciences. We are fortunate to have her as one of our key executives and pleased that she is being honored by the 2014 STEP Awards,” stated Implant Sciences’ President and CEO, Glenn D. Bolduc. “She established the complete manufacturing and services organization for Implant Sciences, which now rivals that of its very large competitors while maintaining a small company, entrepreneurial environment, and keeping customer service at the forefront.”

“These 160 women are the faces of exciting careers in manufacturing,” said Jennifer McNelly, President of The Manufacturing Institute. “We chose to honor these women because they each made significant achievements in manufacturing through positive impact on their company and the industry as a whole. The STEP Awards are part of the larger STEP Ahead initiative, launched to examine and promote the role of women in the manufacturing industry through recognition, research, and leadership for attracting, advancing, and retaining strong female talent.

On February 6, The Manufacturing Institute will recognize 160 recipients of the STEP Awards at a reception in Washington, D.C. The STEP Awards program will highlight each Honoree’s story, including their leadership and accomplishments in manufacturing.

About Implant Sciences

Implant Sciences is the leader in next generation Explosives Trace Detection (ETD) technology. In January 2013, the Company became only the third ETD manufacturer, and the sole American-owned company, to have product approval from the US Transportation Security Administration. Implant Sciences has developed proprietary technologies used in its commercial explosives and drugs trace detection systems, which ship to a growing number of locations domestically and internationally. Implant Sciences’ QS-H150 portable explosives trace detector has received Qualified Anti-Terrorism Technology Designation and, in addition to receiving TSA qualification for air cargo screening, the Company’s QS-B220 has also received STAC certification, a Developmental Testing & Evaluation (DT&E) Designation by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security under the Support Anti-terrorism by Fostering Effective Technology Act of 2002 (the SAFETY Act), and the GSN 2013 Homeland Security Award for “Best Explosives Detection Solution”. For further details on the Company and its products, please visit the Company’s website at http://www.implantsciences.com.

About The Manufacturing Institute

The Manufacturing Institute (the Institute) is the 501(c)(3) affiliate of the National Association of Manufacturers. As a non-partisan organization, the Institute is committed to delivering leading-edge information and services to the nation’s manufacturers. The Institute is the authority on the attraction, qualification, and development of world-class manufacturing talent. For more information, please visit www.themanufacturinginstitute.org.

HAIFA, Israel, Jan. 6, 2014 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Pluristem Therapeutics Inc. (PSTI) (TASE:PLTR), today announced that the results of the company’s Phase I/II clinical trial testing the safety and efficacy of PLacental Expanded (PLX-PAD) cells for the treatment of muscle injury will be presented on January 21, 2014.

The Principal Investigator of the study will join Pluristem’s management to discuss these results as part of Pluristem’s Regenerative Medicine Day to be held on the above date at the Tel Aviv Stock Exchange, Tel Aviv Israel.

This randomized, placebo-controlled, double blinded study was conducted at the Orthopedic Clinic on the campus of the Charite University Medical School under the auspices of the Paul-Ehrlich-Institute (PEI), Germany’s health authority. The injured muscle studied was the gluteal buttock muscle that has been surgically traumatized during total hip replacement surgery.

The study was comprised of 3 treatment groups, two PLX-PAD groups of different doses and one placebo group. The primary endpoints of the study include safety and the maximal contraction force of the gluteal muscle at six months post-surgery. The secondary efficacy endpoints include an analysis of the macrostructure and microstructure of the gluteal muscle using magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and biopsy.

“We look forward to receiving the results from this important orthopedic study. Data from this clinical trial will give us information regarding other potential surgical orthopedic injuries and non-surgical sports related injuries for which our PLX-PAD cells may be beneficial,” stated Zami Aberman, Chairman and CEO of Pluristem. “This Phase I/II study marked the first time PLX-PAD cells were used to address surgically induced muscle injury.”

About Pluristem Therapeutics

Pluristem Therapeutics Inc. is a leading developer of placenta-based cell therapies. The Company’s patented PLX (PLacental eXpanded) cells are a drug delivery platform that releases a cocktail of therapeutic proteins in response to a host of local and systemic inflammatory and ischemic diseases. PLX cells are grown using the company’s proprietary 3D micro-environmental technology and are an “off-the-shelf” product that requires no tissue matching prior to administration.

Pluristem has a strong intellectual property position, company-owned GMP certified manufacturing and research facilities, strategic relationships with major research institutions and a seasoned management team. For more information visit www.pluristem.com, the content of which is not part of this press release.