STONY BROOK, NY -- (Marketwired) -- 11/10/16

Applied DNA Sciences, Inc. (NASDAQ: APDN) (Applied DNA), a provider of DNA-based supply chain, anti-counterfeiting, authentication, genotyping and anti-theft technologies, today reported on the company's progress in penetrating the American cotton industry with its botanical DNA-based supply chain solutions during the 2016 ginning season.

In fiscal 2016, Applied DNA shipped orders for its SigNature T DNA concentrate to tag 93 million pounds of cotton, which consists of previously announced orders to tag 50 million pounds of HomeGrown Lonestar™, 10 million pounds of Acala cotton and a previously undisclosed order to tag 33 million pounds of Pima cotton. Due to extended payment terms under its current contract, Applied DNA does not always recognize all of the revenues in the fiscal quarter in which orders are shipped. In these instances, the balance is recorded as deferred revenue that converts to revenue within 12 months.

The company anticipates total market usage of marked cotton in the 2016 ginning season to be approximately 150 million pounds, which includes the usage of the excess SigNature T DNA from the 2015 ginning season that the company recognized as revenue during fiscal 2015. This compares to total market usage of marked cotton in the 2015 ginning season of approximately 40 million pounds, an expected increase of approximately 275% year-over-year.

"The expected usage of SigNature T DNA to tag cotton in the current ginning season relative to the last is clear evidence that demand for marked cotton is growing," stated Dr. James Hayward, president and CEO of Applied DNA. "Not only is the market absorbing last ginning season's remaining taggant, but we are seeing absolute growth in market demand. Recent news of mislabeled Egyptian cotton, the growing awareness of the use of 'conflict cotton' in everyday products, and a greater focus on supply chain security by brands and retailers are driving momentum. SigNature T DNA is a proven, patented and uncontestable solution that stands at the intersection of technology, market opportunity and the ability to transform our daily lives."

Concluded Dr. Hayward, "Given the nascency of the market, we cannot eliminate the possibility of taggant oversupply recurring in future ginning periods. However, we expect purchase orders placed by our partners to service the increasing needs of brand owners and retailers, and, for the first time in the company's history, interest from international cotton markets, to mitigate this possibility."

About Applied DNA Sciences

We make life real and safe by providing botanical-DNA based security and authentication solutions and services that can help protect products, brands, entire supply chains, and intellectual property of companies, governments and consumers from theft, counterfeiting, fraud and diversion. Our patented DNA-based solutions can be used to identify, tag, track, and trace products, to help assure authenticity, traceability and quality of products. SigNature® DNA describes the platform ingredient that is at the heart of a family of uncopyable, security and authentication solutions such as SigNature® T and fiberTyping®, targeted toward textiles and apparel, DNAnet®, for anti-theft and loss prevention, and digitalDNA®, providing powerful track and trace. All provide a forensic chain of evidence, and can be used to prosecute perpetrators. We are also engaged in the large-scale production of specific DNA sequences using the polymerase chain reaction.

Go to adnas.com for more information, events and to learn more about how Applied DNA Sciences makes life real and safe. Common stock listed on NASDAQ under the symbol APDN, and warrants are listed under the symbol APDNW.

Forward-Looking Statements

The statements made by APDN in this press release may be "forward-looking" in nature within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation 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 14, 2015,and our subsequent quarterly reports on Form 10-Q filed on February 10, 2016, May 12, 2016 and August 11, 2016 which are available at www.sec.gov. 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, unless otherwise required by law.

Investor contact:
Debbie Bailey
631-240-8817
debbie.bailey@adnas.com

media contact:
Kristen Bujold
781-639-4924
kristenb@cgprpublicrelations.com

program contact:
MeiLin Wan
631-240-8849
meilin.wan@adnas.com

web: www.adnas.com
twitter: @APDN