Pressure BioSciences, rebranding to Availa Bio after mergers, taps former L'Oréal President Jim Morrison as CEO

Pressure BioSciences Inc (OTCQB:PBIO), which plans to change its name to Availa Bio following its acquisitions of and merger with two other companies, has tapped former L’Oréal President Jim Morrison as the new CEO of the rebranded company.  

Pressure BioSciences intends to change its name upon completion of the merger with Cannaworx Inc and SkinScience Labs. The change is meant to reflect the science-driven collaboration between the companies, which will operate as synergistic divisions utilizing Pressure Bio’s Ultra Shear Technology platform to bring new levels of bioavailability and performance to a suite of human, animal and agricultural products. 

Morrison has had a legendary career including numerous leadership positions in the personal care industry, most notably with L’Oréal, the world’s largest cosmetics company.

READ: Pressure BioSciences to rebrand as Availa Bio following merger with Cannaworx and SkinScience Labs

While at L’Oréal, Morrison oversaw growth that averaged more than 20% year-over-year. He engineered the acquisitions of Redken and Matrix and led the company during a period of unprecedented growth during his tenure.

Morrison is considered one of the top brand strategists in the personal care space. Most recently, Morrison has been CEO of StarShop, the first celebrity-driven, mobile shopping App. He launched StarShop as a partnership with the telecommunications giant SPRINT and guided the company to a successful exit earlier this year. 

Morrison, whom Business Week Magazine cited as having “a profound impact on the American Beauty Industry,” has had a long history of working with celebrities in the beauty space and at StarShop, most notably Britney Spears, Kimora Lee Simmons, Flo Rida, Katharine McPhee, Christie Brinkley, Rob Lowe and Kylie Jenner.

‘Transformational’ new company

In a statement Thursday, Morrison said he sees Availa Bio as a “transformational” company.

“I have driven powerful growth across all traditional channels and moved companies into leadership positions in the beauty industry,” he said. “I now have the opportunity to literally change the product development landscape of several major industries with the use of the UST Technology in the proliferation of new products that are expected to have greater bioavailability and efficacy than anything in the world today.” 

Morrison added: “My background in skincare, the incredible SkinScience brand, and my track record in launching new products into the market presents a very rare opportunity. Availa Bio will allow me to bring over 30 years of experience and my professional network to focus on revolutionary value creation for this powerful new entity.”

Pressure BioSciences’ current CEO Richard Schumacher noted that Availa Bio will use its breakthrough Ultra Shear Technology to process oil-based nutrients and therapies into more effective, water-soluble solutions. 

“We believe this will revolutionize Availa’s extensive line of existing and new personal care and consumption products, extending from human into veterinary and agricultural applications,” Schumacher said.

“We are honored to have Jim’s expertise, experience, and leadership as we enter into this new phase of expected explosive growth for these products, both through current sales channels like QVC, as well as through many new paths of retail distribution and online shopping.”

The combined Availa Bio has an intellectual property estate of 31 issued and a dozen or more pending patents, as well as an existing global base of hundreds of corporate and thousands of retail customers. Over the next few months, the plan is to roll out two patented oral phytocannabinoid formulations for pain relief.

The company’s stock recently traded up 5.5% to $3.85 a share in New York.

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Story by ProactiveInvestors