OpGen Announces Collaborator in Verification Study for Acuitas® Test

GAITHERSBURG, Md., March 13, 2018 -- OpGen, Inc. (NASDAQ:OPGN) announced today that it is collaborating with Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center (BIDMC) in Boston on a verification study for OpGen’s Acuitas^® AMR Gene Panel u5.47 Assay and Acuitas Lighthouse^® Knowledgebase.  The principal investigator at BIDMC is Stefan Riedel, M.D., Ph.D., D(ABMM), FCAP, Associate Medical Director of the Clinical Microbiology Laboratories at BIDMC and Associate Professor of Pathology at Harvard Medical School.  The study plan includes testing remnant urine specimens from patients at increased risk for complicated urinary tract infections (cUTI).  This prospective verification study is among the first to evaluate potential diagnostic and antibiotic decision-making improvements that could be possible using rapid molecular testing and bioinformatics.

Effective, targeted antimicrobial treatment is of critical importance in patients with cUTI and other serious infections as the emergence and spread of antimicrobial-resistant organisms increase. There are an estimated 400,000 to 800,000 patients each year in the U.S. with cUTI, and approximately half are at risk for multidrug-resistant infections. Complicated UTI continues to be a major cause of hospital admission, morbidity, mortality and excess health care costs as a growing number of infections are healthcare-associated in origin.

The Acuitas AMR Gene Panel u5.47 is a new molecular test developed by OpGen and is currently available for research use only. The test is designed to detect five key pathogens semi-quantitatively and 47 antibiotic-resistance genes in under three hours.

“We are excited to have Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center as a collaborator in this important study to evaluate potential improvements in cUTI management. Our Acuitas AMR Gene Panel u5.47 and Acuitas Lighthouse Knowledgebase are designed to provide clinically actionable information in under three hours, compared with legacy microbiology methods that take up to several days. This collaboration is an important step in verifying our technology’s performance in clinical research laboratory settings,” said Evan Jones, Chairman and CEO of OpGen. 

About OpGen
OpGen, Inc. is harnessing the power of informatics and genomic analysis to provide complete solutions for patient, hospital and network-wide infection treatment and prevention. Learn more at www.opgen.com and follow OpGen on Twitter and LinkedIn.

OpGen, Acuitas, Acuitas Lighthouse and QuickFISH are registered trademarks of OpGen, Inc.

Forward-Looking Statements
This press release includes statements relating to OpGen’s AMR Gene Panel in development and its Acuitas Lighthouse Knowledgebase in development and its commercialization plans for these products. 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, 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 success of our commercialization efforts, 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 (SEC). 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 Contact:
Michael Farmer
Sr. Director, Marketing
240-813-1284
[email protected]
[email protected]

Investor Contacts:
LHA Investor Relations
Kim Sutton Golodetz
212-838-3777
[email protected]
or
Bruce Voss
310-691-7100
[email protected]