Accelr8 Announces Acceptance of Scientific Presentation, & Pilot Results with a New Rapid Test for a Major Emerging Resistanc...
March 09 2010 - 8:00AM
Business Wire
Accelr8 Technology Corporation (NYSE Amex: AXK) today
announced that it has received acceptance to present results for a
study on 2-hour, culture-free, quantitative pathogen
identification. The study was co-authored with principal
investigators at the Denver Health Medical Center and the
Barnes-Jewish Hospital in St. Louis. The presentation will take
place at the 110th General Meeting of the American Society for
Microbiology (ASM, www.asm.org) to be held from May 23-27 in San
Diego. Tests performed directly from specimens accurately
identified three target pathogens that are the most
resistance–prone bacteria responsible for hospital-acquired
infections (HAI).
The company also announced the start of a study to confirm
performance of a new rapid test. It detects a threatening form of
resistance that can cause failure of the drug most commonly used to
treat MRSA “superbug” infections. There is no standard test for
this important new type of resistance, known as “hVISA.” It can now
be identified only with special equipment and procedures that are
not practical for standard hospital labs, and takes 3-5 days.
Accelr8’s new test only takes 3-4 hours after the initial 2-hour
quantitative identification step with the BACcel™ system.
“We might think of hVISA as MRSA 2.0,” said David Howson,
Accelr8’s president. “Vancomycin, a drug from the 1950s, remains
the drug of choice if the physician thinks that MRSA is causing an
infection. Researchers discovered hVISA in patients who failed
vancomycin therapy. The extent of its spread is unknown because it
is so difficult to identify. With MRSA itself continuing to spread,
it is essential to have a practical method to identify this
potential next-generation MRSA.”
“MRSA causes as much as 20% of HAI mortality. Bacteria that are
much more complex than MRSA cause the other 80%. Our first targets
in addition to ‘Staph’ include Pseudomonas and Acinetobacter, which
can cause HAI that is very difficult to manage. The study to be
presented at ASM shows that the BACcel™ system can accurately count
and identify these dangerous pathogens in a single two-hour
culture-free test. This performance has never been approached by
any other technology. It demonstrates the ability to detect
multiple types of bacteria that are most likely to cause therapy to
fail, and do it quickly enough to help improve the choice of
initial therapy,” Howson continued.
“Our antibiotic resistance tests follow this two-hour count and
identification to then determine whether broad resistance exists
with any of the identified pathogens. We have demonstrated the
unique ability to test for multiple major resistance types at once,
such as MRSA and hVISA in Staphs, and ESBL and KPC now making the
news about enteric bacteria. Our resistance tests typically add two
to four hours, so the physician can receive complete results before
leaving for the day. In conjunction with test development, our
study at Denver Health continues to build its enrollment of ICU
patients. We therefore expect 2010 to show very significant
advances toward making the case for rapid diagnostics in managing
critically ill patients who contract HAI,” Howson concluded.
About Accelr8
Accelr8 Technology Corporation (www.accelr8.com) is a developer
of innovative materials and instrumentation for advanced
applications in medical instrumentation, basic research, drug
discovery, and bio-detection. Accelr8 is developing a rapid
analytical platform for infectious pathogens, the BACcel™ system,
based on its innovative surface coatings, assay processing, and
detection technologies. In addition, Accelr8 licenses certain of
its proprietary technology for use in applications outside of
Accelr8’s own products.
Certain statements in this news release may be “forward-looking
statements” within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act
of 1933, as amended, and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act
of 1934, as amended. Statements regarding future prospects and
developments are based upon current expectations and involve
certain risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results and
developments to differ materially from the forward-looking
statement, including those detailed in the company's filings with
the Securities and Exchange Commission. Accelr8 does not undertake
an obligation to publicly update or revise any forward-looking
statements, whether as a result of new information or future
events.
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