News
November 3, 2011. BIOCOLLECTIONS WORLDWIDE INC. LAUNCHES REDESIGNED WEBSITE
BioCollections Worldwide Inc. (BCW) is proud to announce the launch of its redesigned website, www.biocollections.com. The redesigned site better reflects the company's operational activities.
This site has a fresh new feel which demonstrates the wide spectrum of products and services offered by BCW, adds Sixto Pacheco, CCRC, President and CEO at BioCollections Worldwide, Inc. (BCW). Continuing to build a a closer relationship with our customers by building an operational transactional website is what we wanted to achieve.
March 1, 2010. BIOCOLLECTIONS WORLDWIDE INC. UNVEILS NEW HEADQUARTERS IN FLORIDA
BioCollections Worldwide Inc. (BCW) today opened its new state-of-the-art world headquarters facility. BCW is a global provider of blood products and services to the in-vitro diagnostics community.
Located near the company's old headquarters in South Florida, BCWs new facility encompasses three buildings totaling 23,000 square feet and will house the Administrative, Donor/Participant (D/P) intake, Sample Handling/Processing, Manufacturing and Testing Laboratory operations.
"BCW has experienced steady growth over the last few years and our new headquarters facility will enhance our ability to produce, deliver and service high-quality products for our customers worldwide." said Sixto Pacheco, CCRC, President and CEO of BCW.
September 19, 2009. BCW OPENS NEW OFFICE IN LOS ANGELES, CA
BioCollections Worldwide, Inc. (BCW) annunced today the opening of its regional officein los Anegles, California. The same is located in the San Fernando Valley.
"We have been eagerly waiting to open a local office on the West Coast in order to provide accesibility to participants to our studies." said Sixo Pacheco, CCRC - Pressident & CEO at BioCollections Worldwide, Inc. (BCW).
BCW will continues its expansion efforts into other markets accross the United States and worldwide in view of its long standing global strategy.
June 9, 2009. TRUGENE HIV-1 GENOTYPING KIT AND OPENGENE DNA SEQUENCING SYSTEM IMPLEMENTED
BioCollections Worldwide, Inc. (BCW) today announced that the TRUGENE HIV-1 Genotyping Kit and OpenGene DNA Sequencing System have been implemented at the BCW Testing Laboratory. The TRUGENE system provides an integrated computational system that delivers enhanced data management, simplified system configuration and networking support as well as increased flexibility and throughput in order to generate genotype and gene sequence information.
"The TRUGENE iMac OSX-based system will enable us to increase throughput and flexibility during the interrogation and monitoring of HIV-1," said Sixto Pacheco, CCRC, President and CEO at BioCollections Worldwide, Inc. (BCW) "BioCollections Worldwide, Inc. is committed to delivering best of class testing services to our customers. The implementation of this system will permit us to blast sequences against various databases in order to identify new and energing HIV subtypes."
April 14, 2008. REGIONAL OFFICE OPENED IN CAMEROON
BioCollections Worldwide, Inc. (BCW) is pleased to announce the opening of its new office in Buea, Cameroon.
"The opening of this office in Cameroon complements our existing network in Africa, with affiliate-provided services in other several other countries. With new and emerging HIV strains as well as the need to identify HIV Type O's, this office was the next logical step in our global expansion plans" said Sixto Pacheco, CCRC, President & CEO of BioCollections Worldwide, Inc.
The new branch will handle front-end procurement activities for this African region as well as support its surrounding affiliates in any and all necessary logistics.
November 10, 2007. HIV, HBV AND HCV VIRAL LOAD TESTING CAPABILITIES ADDED TO BCW'S TESTING LAB
BioCollections Worldwide, Inc. (BCW) announced today that it is commercially offering Abbott Molecular HIV-1 RealTime for HIV-1 viral load testing. The test is available to physicians and pharmaceutical customers through it's Miami headquarters facility.
The new HIV-1 RealTime PCR precisely measures the quantity of circulating HIV-1 virus in plasma of infected patients ("viral load"). It can detect the full range of HIV viral subtypes that scientists have identified to date, and which until recently were particular to specific geographic regions. While the majority of HIV-1 isolates reported in the western hemisphere, Europe, and Australia continue to belong to subtype B, and while non-B subtypes A, C, D and E continue to be prevalent in Africa and Southeast Asia, global travel is facilitating the broad distribution of all HIV-1 subtypes worldwide.
"With reports of non-B subtypes increasing globally, the ability of a test to detect and quantify these diverse subtypes are crucial to quality HIV patient care, treatment decision-making and molecular diagnostic development," said Sixto Pacheco, CCRC, President & CEO at BioCollections Worldwide, Inc. "We are excited to offer this methodology to our customers. We feel that it will not only help in the treatment decisions for our participating physicians, but will also cut down on turn-around times in delivery of results to our diagnostic development customers."
October 2, 2007. BIOCOLLECTIONS WORLDWIDE, INC. (BCW) RECEIVES SBA 8(A) CERTIFICATION
BioCollections Worldwide, Inc. (BCW) has applied for and received certification from the Small Business Administration for their 8(a) program and certification as a Small Disadvantaged Business. The 8(a) certification awarded in October 7th, 2007 is valid for three (3) years.
"Being designated an SBA 8(a) company provides a small business with the opportunity to bid on a more level playing field for government contracts on both a state and federal level. The application process is intensive and takes anywhere from 6 months to 1 year to complete. The SBA requires documentation on company billing history, financial statements, employee qualifications, a valid business plan and a goal statement for how the certification will be used" said Sixto Pacheco. CCRC, President and CEO.
Once the certification is awarded, there are still no guarantees that the company will be successful in receiving a government contract. Each request for proposal carries detailed requirements and specifications that must be met over and above those already required in the 8(a) program. However, certain government contracts are sometimes set aside for 8(a) competitors only. In that case, it reduces the pool of competitors to companies who are similar in size.
May 10, 2005. BIOCOLLECTIONS WORLDWIDE, INC. (BCW) HAS OPENED A NEW OFFICE IN BISSAU, GUINEA-BISSAU
The new office represents the company's first office in the African continent and has been opened to collect and identify new and emerging strains of HIV amongst other infectious diseases. In addition to this prime directive, it will serve as a central procurement point for the collection of HIV Type 2 material.
"We have had major success in the Guinea-Bissau for several years, and when we decided to increase our presence at a local level, Bissau was the obvious location for us", said Sixto Pacheco, CCRC, BCW's President & CEO.
"The new office reflects our commitment to provide unparalleled global procurement capabilities", added Mr. Pacheco. "We have been providing material to customers for a number of years from Guinea-Bissau, and the new office will really help deliver on our ambitious business growth plans for the long term".
November 12, 2004. MIAMI SUNPOST - SCIENCE VS. SAFETY?
Medical Research Lab Granted Temporary Zoning Variance
"You may be running afoul of the Florida Civil Rights Statute which classifies HIV victims as disabled." – Chad Willard, attorney for Bio Collections Worldwide Inc.
By Mitchell Pellecchia
Staff Writer
A Little Haiti diagnostic and demographic medical research group was granted a 12-month window by Miami's Zoning Board Monday to allow persons with communicable diseases and AIDS to participate in their clinical research studies.
Bio Collections Worldwide Inc. was granted the zoning variance, but for a limited time only. After a year, Bio Collections has to come before the board again for review so its impact on the community can be evaluated.
"The only way I would be inclined to favor this is to give temporary approval and then gauge community consensus," said Zoning Chair Juvenal Pina.
The testing company is relied upon by doctors and medical researchers worldwide for their extensive and diverse pool of subjects and biological material. They have been operating out of their 5735 N.E. 2nd Avenue office for eight months now and requested that zoning officials allow them a pharmaceutical laboratory so they can broaden their testing field.
Company officials told the city their operation is more likened to that of any medical office currently operating within their C-1 district and that their proposed laboratory should be allowed to operate "as a matter of right," said Bio's lawyer Chad Willard.
But it is a right that Bio Collections doesn't enjoy, said board member and 32-year Little Haiti resident Georges Williams. "This project is not right for the community," shouted Williams. He told company president, Sixto Pacheco, that the "Haitian community has had enough of the sick people and enough of the drug problems. Enough is enough."
Assistant Planning Director Lourdes Slazyk agreed. "When they walk out the door – they are in the neighborhood," she said, referring to the drug addicts and alcoholics Pacheco said his program would not admit, ultimately turning them back out into the street. Slazyk insisted that the center's expansion would bring "concentrations of diseases" and a bad element to area neighborhoods and children.
Bio Collection was before the board once in July and again in September, when "There were only three conditions and now there are 12," Pacheco told the SunPost. Of the 12, said Pacheco's counsel, there were four such that, if enforced by the city, the lab wouldn't be worth the investment:
* Restricting the lab to testing phase-one and phase-two patients (early stages of infection) only.
* Limiting the lab to off-premises patient screening only.
* Prohibiting the screening and testing of HIV positive patients.
* Prohibiting testing those with medically documented communicable diseases.
Amidst the board's criticisms and proposed constraints, Pacheco and Willard promoted the lab as a place that would offer healthcare opportunities to those who would not otherwise be able to afford testing, but at the same time warned city officials that restricting treatment to a specific control group such as "those with AIDS" may be discriminatory.
"You may be running afoul of the Florida Civil Rights Statute which classifies HIV victims as disabled," said Willard.
The two company owners said they were both surprised over the community dissent, especially since "residents gave us the impression then that everyone knew what we were doing" during a charette conducted over the summer, Willard said. "Fifty people attended."
Pacheco assured residents that all tests conducted by his lab are monitored closely by the FDA (Food and Drug Administration) and that the facility is equipped to handle any kind of health risk. "It's a step by step process that if we fail, we'll face sanctions," he said, assuring that the lab will not generate biohazards. "We only collect them," he told the board.
That didn't hold water for Williams. "It will be extremely difficult for the city to control what goes on in that clinic," he said. "It's not ‘kid friendly,' and it's not a business that fits that area."
One of Pacheco's medical assistants, Yvette Simeon, a seasoned Liberty City AIDS clinic worker, told the board that it would be highly irresponsible and wrong to discriminate against HIV patients and to do so would be ignoring the epidemic. "I don't just do this for the job," said Simeon. "I love my community."
Other residents at the meeting were more concerned about the landscaping of the new lab building and requested that Pacheco do something with its visual aspects. Area retailer Silvia Wong said at first she objected to the project because a laboratory building didn't fall in line with her vision to make the area more pedestrian friendly, but has since changed her mind.
"If we can assume these gentlemen are not lying to us and can make it inviting to pedestrians, then I welcome them," said Wong, pairing-up the recent transformation of 1st, 2nd and 3rd Streets in Manhattan, with the movement to redevelop Little Haiti.
After two failed motions, the first an attempt to enforce four of the twelve conditions and the second to prohibit the lab altogether, the board approved Pacheco's request for a lab 4-to-2 pending a year's probation. Although Pacheco said he would work at continuing to make the façade more community friendly, the board did not make it a probation stipulation.
"I cannot go down to that community and tell them this project is approved," Williams complained.
"I think his vision is way off," replied Pacheco.
February 4, 2004. FREE LIVER TESTING
Beaver County Times & Allegheny Times - A Florida company will offer free liver testing Saturday and Sunday for those stricken in the recent hepatitis A outbreak.
The tests, according to Sixto Pacheco, president and chief executive officer of BioCollections Worldwide Inc. in Miami, will serve two purposes.
The first, Pacheco said, is to see whether those who came down with hepatitis A are still in the acute phase, or they've moved into the recovery phase.
The second purpose, Pacheco said, is to allow researchers to possibly develop better testing methods for hepatitis A.
"Hepatitis A that was around 30 years ago is not the same as today," Pacheco said, adding that every disease evolves over time.
Pacheco said a group of pharmaceutical companies is sponsoring the testing. The outbreak gives the company the chance to collect as much data as possible, he said.
According to the state health department, 660 people were sickened in the outbreak, which was traced to raw green onions served at the Chi-Chi's Mexican restaurant at the Beaver Valley Mall. Three people died in the outbreak, and 130 were hospitalized.
The tests will be conducted from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday and Sunday at Center Medical Associates, 99 Autumn Lane, Center Township. Those interested in the testing must make an appointment by calling (800) 489-5454.
February 2, 2004. RECRUITMENT INITIATIVE
BioCollections Worldwide, Inc. announced the launching of a recruitment initiative that will establish a global network of phlebotomists to collect blood specimens for companies and researchers around the world. The Collection Network recruits phlebotomists and laboratories with specimen collection services to collect specimens from subjects and patients in their community who have agreed to participate in clinical studies.
BioCollections, based in Miami, is an international organization specializing in the collection of biological material from different diagnostic and demographic individuals for clinical research studies. Their clients include a wide variety of research companies and organizations requiring specimens for commercial and research purposes. Phlebotomists and other healthcare professionals with specimen responsibilities who register in the company's database will collect specimens that help their client clinicians develop new diagnostic tools and seek cures for the diseases that afflict humanity.
BioCollections' donor/participant database is comprised of individuals from different demographical and diagnostic backgrounds guaranteeing researchers a diverse donor pool for conducting clinical trials and research studies.
The network will be the world's first database of phlebotomists that can be deployed to collect specimens from a targeted demographic and establishes an infrastructure previously non-existent in the industry. Although insurance carriers contract with companies and individual to draw specimens from their life insurance applicants, the agencies deploy medical assistants only for that purpose. BioCollections phlebotomists must be experienced and will be trained in the specimen requirements unique to each study.
August 27, 2002. MARKETING AND OPERATIONAL AGREEMENT
Florida Reference Laboratory, Inc. (FRL), a Miami based Clinical Reference Laboratory, has agreed to a Marketing and Operational agreement with BioCollections Worldwide Diagnostic Laboratory Division.
Under the agreement FRL will take over the operational side BCW's Diagnostic Laboratory Division while BCW retains its Marketing rights.
Mr. Sixto Pacheco, President and Chief Executive Officer of BioCollections Worldwide, Inc stated, "Our Diagnostic Laboratory Division has been undergoing an explosive growth due to our servicing capabilities.
Under this agreement we are able to guarantee our clients a constant level of service while having the ability to increment our client base at pace with our growth expectations.
FRL has more than 25 years of experience in the esoteric medical testing arena and we are excited at the opportunity of working with them."
January 17, 2002. COLLABORATION AGREEMENT
GenoMed Inc. - ("the Company" or "GenoMed") (National Quotation Bureau's Pink Sheets Symbol: GMED), a St. Louis, Missouri based medical genomics biotechnology company, announced today that it has formed a collaboration agreement with BioCollections Worldwide, Inc. to collect samples from African American and Hispanic patients with a variety of common diseases.
The collection of DNA specimens represents fifty-two (52) common diseases, including high blood pressure, heart attacks, diabetes and its complications, and common forms of cancer, such as prostate, breast, lung, and colon.
BioCollections Worldwide, located in Miami, Florida, has developed an extensive network of physician and patient contacts throughout the world.
Dr. David Moskowitz, Chairman and Chief Medical Officer of GenoMed, stated, "We are delighted to have secured a collaboration with BioCollections Worldwide.
The incidence of certain diseases is relatively high in the African American population. For instance, the rate of end stage kidney disease from diabetes or high blood pressure is roughly 6 times higher among African Americans compared to Caucasians.
We are excited to be working with BioCollections Worldwide to address diseases that affect African Americans at a higher rate."
September 15, 2001. LICENSE RECEIVED
BioCollections Worldwide, Inc. (BCW), located in Miami, Florida has received its license to perform medical diagnostic testing in it's Miami, Florida facility.
The licenses obtained permit he facility to perform testing in the areas of Diagnostic Immunology, Hematology, Urinalysis, Endocrinology and Routine Chemistry.
Mr. Sixto Pacheco, President and Chief Executive Officer of BioCollections Worldwide, Inc stated, "We are very excited about having the ability to provide in house esoteric testing to our participating physicians as well as to our pharmaceutical partners.
September 25, 2000. COLLABORATIVE AGREEMENT
Genomics Collaborative, a Blue Bell, Pennsylvania based company has signed a collaborative agreement with BioCollections Worldwide, Inc. for a Multi-Center, Multinational case-control clinical study to explore relationships between genotypic and serological findings and phenotypic manifestations in a large cohort of participants.
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