OpGen’s Subsidiary Curetis Meets Milestones of Extended and Expanded R&D Collaboration with FIND
All milestones successfully met, including antibiotic stewardship module, mobile and cloud-based data access as well as comprehensive next generation sequencing results
Triggers additional milestone payment of approximately $0.2 million
ROCKVILLE, Md., July 19, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- OpGen, Inc. (Nasdaq: OPGN, “OpGen” or “the Company”), a precision medicine company harnessing the power of molecular diagnostics and bioinformatics to help combat infectious disease, reported today that its German subsidiary Curetis GmbH has met all milestones under its extended and expanded research and development (“R&D”) collaboration agreement with FIND. Following the delivery of a comprehensive milestone report at the end of the second quarter of 2023, FIND recently confirmed that all requirements have been met successfully.
The extended and expanded R&D collaboration has successfully addressed the development and feasibility for an antibiotic stewardship module as part of the Unyvero A30 software suite that can be customized to guide usage of specific antibiotics based on their availability from local hospital pharmacies in relevant settings within low- and middle-income countries (LMICs).
Another key deliverable and milestone successfully met was the prototype of a “data everywhere” module that allows exporting the Unyvero A30 rapid antimicrobial resistance (AMR) test results to mobile devices as well as into relevant cloud settings. This deliverable supports usage of Unyvero A30 test data in resource-constrained settings with minimal infrastructure as often faced in many LMICs.
Finally, a comprehensive set of over 400 bacterial isolates were tested using next generation sequencing (NGS) at OpGen’s subsidiary Ares Genetics (Ares), and results were compared against the proprietary ARESdb database. This analysis revealed important differences in the sequences of clinically relevant bacterial strains between those coming from LMICs versus those obtained in Western countries.
Dr. Gerd Luedke, Director Innovation, Technology and IP at Curetis GmbH commented, “We are excited to have successfully delivered on all of the milestones from the expanded and extended phase of our collaboration agreement. We look forward to pursuing several new projects with FIND, as we discuss a potential new set of development milestones and deliverables that will be part of a subsequent R&D collaboration agreement with FIND.”
Johannes Bacher, Chief Operating Officer of OpGen added, “We believe the successful completion of the feasibility phase including all of the expanded scope deliverables of our development collaboration puts us in an ideal position towards development of a robust Unyvero A30 AMR solution optimized for use in LMICs. This remains a key goal we intend to pursue under a potential new contract of this strategic R&D collaboration with FIND.”
Dr. Cecilia Ferreyra, Director, FIND AMR Programme remarked that, “We view the additional features ‘Data Everywhere’ and ‘Antimicrobial Stewardship’ components by Curetis on the Unyvero A30 having the potential applicability and use in low- and middle-income countries. We look forward to our potential continued collaboration to expand development efforts of an AMR solution based on Unyvero A30 for testing for blood stream infections in LMIC hospitals so that people can be linked to the care they need as soon as possible.”
About OpGen, Inc.
OpGen, Inc. (Rockville, Md., U.S.A.) is a precision medicine company harnessing the power of molecular diagnostics and bioinformatics to help combat infectious disease. Along with our subsidiaries, Curetis GmbH and Ares Genetics GmbH, we are developing and commercializing molecular microbiology solutions helping to guide clinicians with more rapid and actionable information about life threatening infections to improve patient outcomes, and decrease the spread of infections caused by multidrug-resistant microorganisms, or MDROs. OpGen’s current product portfolio includes Unyvero, Acuitas AMR Gene Panel, and the ARES Technology Platform including ARESdb, NGS technology and AI-powered bioinformatics solutions for antibiotic response prediction including ARESiss, ARESid, ARESasp, and AREScloud.
For more information, please visit www.opgen.com.
Forward-Looking Statements
This press release includes statements regarding Curetis’ current and potential future collaboration agreements with FIND and its development of the Unyvero A30 for low- and middle-income countries. These statements and other statements regarding OpGen’s future plans and goals constitute "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933 and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 and are intended to qualify for the safe harbor from liability established by the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Such statements are subject to risks and uncertainties that are often difficult to predict, are beyond our control, and which may cause results to differ materially from expectations. Factors that could cause our results to differ materially from those described include, but are not limited to, the success of our commercialization efforts, our ability to successfully, timely and cost-effectively develop, seek and obtain regulatory clearance for and commercialize our product and services offerings, the rate of adoption of our products and services by hospitals and other healthcare providers, the fact that we may not effectively use proceeds from recent financings, our ability to satisfy debt obligations under our loan with the European Investment Bank, the effect of the military action in Russia and Ukraine on our distributors, collaborators and service providers, our liquidity and working capital requirements, the effect on our business of existing and new regulatory requirements, and other economic and competitive factors. For a discussion of the most significant risks and uncertainties associated with OpGen's business, please review our filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. You are cautioned not to place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements, which are based on our expectations as of the date of this press release and speak only as of the date of this press release. We undertake no obligation to publicly update or revise any forward-looking statement, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.
OpGen:
Oliver Schacht
President and CEO
InvestorRelations@opgen.com
OpGen Investor & Press Contact:
Alyssa Factor
Edison Group
afactor@edisongroup.com
