(COMTEX) Accelr8 Announces Acceptance of Scientific Presentation, and Pilot Results wi
th a New Rapid Test for a Major Emerging Resistance Threat ( BusinessWire )
DENVER, Mar 09, 2010 (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(TM) 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(TM) 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(TM) 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.
SOURCE: Accelr8 Technology Corporation
Accelr8 Technology Corp.
Tom Geimer, 303-863-8088
tom.geimer@accelr8.com
OR
Metzger Associates
John Metzger, 303-786-7000, ext. 2202
john@metzger.com
Copyright Business Wire 2010
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