STONY BROOK, NY--(Marketwire - February 1, 2011) - Applied DNA Sciences, Inc. (
Prestigio is a major uniform manufacturer in Mexico, calling on government agencies, including security groups and police departments. As the primary uniform manufacturer in Mexico, using the highest level of security, it is important for Prestigio and its clientele to have ability to verify genuine uniforms and to be able to determine authenticity of their products. For this reason, Prestigio was looking for an uncopyable, definitive technology to protect and authenticate their products -- SigNature® DNA taggants.
Counterfeit Uniforms used by Marauders
Stolen or counterfeit uniforms have long been the device of interlopers. In the infamous St. Valentine's Day massacre, Al Capone's henchmen were dressed as Chicago Police. Iraq has recently targeted tailors who make and sell counterfeit police and military uniforms, after attackers disguised as security forces carried out suicide bombings in Baghdad. Recently in the UK, a bogus policeman in fake uniform crashed a meeting of top cops attended by Britain's Home Secretary. In one of the boldest recent incidents, gangsters in a convoy of seven phony police vehicles kidnapped a mayor from his home near Monterrey in northern Mexico, last August. The mayor's body, blindfolded and hands bound, was found two days later, on a rural road. The alleged assassins were municipal police wearing federal police uniforms.
"Impersonating a law enforcement asset is ingenious and disturbing. It's the tactic of hiding in plain sight. Cops don't want to stop other cops," said Fred Burton, vice president at the security consultancy Stratfor and a counterterrorism adviser for the Texas Public Safety Department in a Washington Post article on Aug 30, 2010.
DNA Makes Uniforms Uncopyable
The threat of more clone attacks has grown so serious that the Mexican military has changed the design of its uniforms, trading camouflage for more counterfeit-proof patterns, according to Enrique Torres, a spokesman for military and police operations in the northern state of Chihuahua (Washington Post 8-30-2010).
Applied DNA Sciences has developed patents and amassed commercial experience related to the marking of fabrics with SigNature DNA and adducts of DNA markers with optical reporters. The company utilizes large, complex plant-derived and encrypted genomic (DNA) sequences to prepare SigNature DNA taggants. The utility of these markers as a security mark has been validated in studies funded by the Department of Energy at the US National Laboratories. Early deployment of SigNature DNA taggants has demonstrated that they are difficult or impossible to copy in scenarios when other security approaches have been rendered ineffective by organized counterfeiting criminals.
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About APDN
APDN sells patented DNA security solutions that provide anti-counterfeit protection, as well as protecting brands and intellectual property from counterfeiting and diversion. SigNature DNA is a botanical mark used for product authentication in a unique manner that essentially cannot be copied. When used in conjunction with other law enforcement technologies, SigNature DNA can provide a forensic chain of evidence that has been used successfully in more than 15 convictions. To learn more, go to www.adnas.com where APDN routinely posts all press releases.
The statements made by APDN may be forward-looking in nature and are made pursuant to the safe harbor provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Forward-looking statements describe APDN's future plans, projections, strategies and expectations, and are based on assumptions and involve a number of risks and uncertainties, many of which are beyond the control of APDN. Actual results could differ materially from those projected due to our short operating history, limited financial resources, limited market acceptance, market competition and various other factors detailed from time to time in APDN's SEC reports and filings, including our Annual Report on Form 10-K, filed on December 15, 2010 and our subsequent quarterly reports on Form 10-Q. APDN undertakes no obligation to update publicly any forward-looking statements to reflect new information, events or circumstances after the date hereof to reflect the occurrence of unanticipated events.
Contact Information:
DIRECTOR, TEXTILE SALES:
Thomas W. Gladtke
973-699-6939
fax: 631-444-8848
INVESTOR CONTACT:
Debbie Bailey
631-444-8090
fax: 631-444-8848
MEDIA CONTACT:
Janice Meraglia
631-444-6293
fax: 631-444-8848
FCMN Contact:
Web site: http://www.adnas.com