Echo net loss for first half 2011 increases to $6.5 million

Echo Therapeutics, Inc. (Nasdaq: ECTE), a company developing its needle-free Symphony™ tCGM System as a non-invasive, wireless, transdermal continuous glucose monitoring (tCGM) system and its Prelude™ SkinPrep System for transdermal drug delivery, today announced results for the period ended June 30, 2011.  Echo's Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q is available through Echo's website at www.echotx.com.

Recent Corporate Highlights:

• In May 2011, Christopher P. Schnittker, CPA, joined Echo Therapeutics as its Chief Financial Officer.  Mr. Schnittker is a senior executive with more than twenty years of financial management, reporting and corporate governance experience in the biotechnology and pharmaceutical industries.  
• In May 2011, Echo's corporate headquarters relocated from Franklin, MA to Philadelphia, PA in response to Echo's growing and evolving business.  Echo continues to expand its Franklin office as the operations hub for its engineering and product development personnel.
• Echo and its products have been featured in the press several times.  Echo Therapeutics' needle-free Symphony tCGM System was featured in a story in the Philadelphia Inquirer on May 9, 2011 entitled "Former Surgeon Developing Needle-Free Technology."  A podcast of MassDevice's interview with Echo's CEO, Dr. Patrick Mooney, was posted on May 31, 2011.  On June 8, 2011, Dr. Stanley Nasraway, Director of the Surgical Intensive Care Units at Tufts Medical Center and ICU glycemic control thought leader discussed Echo's Symphony tCGM System in his BioMedReports article, "Tight Glycemic Control: What do we really know, and what should we expect?"
• Echo's common stock began trading on The NASDAQ Capital Market on June 29, 2011. Echo continues to trade under the ticker symbol "ECTE."
• Equity research coverage of Echo was initiated by Morgan Joseph TriArtisan, JMP Securities, Feltl and Company, Chardan Capital Markets, and Noble Financial Capital Markets.

"Our progress during the first half of 2011 is exemplified by the continued advancement of our Symphony tCGM System, the appointment of Chris Schnittker as Chief Financial Officer, and the move to Nasdaq," commented Patrick T. Mooney, M.D., Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Echo Therapeutics. "As we head into the second half of the year, our focus is to drive Symphony through clinical trials and, ultimately, to the market.  With several important milestones still ahead, we look forward to continued progress and increased shareholder value."

First Quarter 2011 Financial Results

For the six months ended June 30, 2011, Echo reported approximately $243,000 in licensing revenue compared to $182,000 revenue in the first half of 2010. The company increased operating expenses by 5% to $3.8 million compared to $3.6 million during the first half of 2010. This increase included an 11% increase in research and development and almost no change in selling, general and administrative expenses. The net loss and net loss per common share for the first half of 2011 was approximately $6.5 million, or ($0.26) per share, compared to a net loss of $2.4 million, or ($0.09) per share, in the prior year.  The company completed the quarter with cash of approximately $3.2 million.