LEXINGTON, Mass., April 8, 2015 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- T2 Biosystems, Inc. (Nasdaq:TTOO), a company developing innovative diagnostic products to improve patient health, today announced that results from an analysis on the impact of using the company's T2Candida® Panel were published in Future Microbiology. The study, conducted by IMS Health, found that in a 500-bed hospital with an average of 5,100 symptomatic patients at high risk for developing a Candida infection, early detection with the utilization of T2Candida could provide an annual cost savings of approximately $5.8 million and the prevention of 60 percent of Candida-related deaths.
"We believe these data are extremely compelling and highlight the potentially meaningful benefits of early detection of Candida with our T2Candida Panel – including significantly reducing hospital costs, and more importantly, saving so many patient lives," said John McDonough, chief executive officer of T2 Biosystems. "The findings from this study support our goal of changing the paradigm in sepsis diagnosis, and we look forward to the opportunity to help implement this important change for patients, physicians and hospital administrators."
The study evaluated cost-effectiveness and the impact to hospital budgets using a decision tree model. The model calculated the economic effect of adopting a T2Candida diagnostic strategy over one year in a hospital setting. Key findings included:
- A typical 500 bed hospital with 5,100 annual high-risk patients could save as much as $5,858,448 annually. This reflects a cost savings of $1,149 per patient tested and a positive return on investment in less than one month.
- In all scenarios tested, even the most conservative, the T2Candida Panel delivered significant cost savings, with the lowest potential outcome being $4 million in savings.
- There were cost savings for patients who tested both positive and negative for Candida. Early detection allowed for timely, accurate treatment as necessary, and cost avoidance when not needed.
- Rapid detection avoided 31.7 patient deaths, or a reduction of 60.6 percent Candida-related deaths per hospital.
"Given the increasing demand for efficiency and improved outcomes in the hospital setting, it is critically important to understand the potential for a new product to both positively impact patient care, as well as budgets," said Julie Munakata, senior principal at IMS Health. "At IMS, we perform many independent analyses and rarely do we see both cost savings and mortality prevention from new products."
About The T2Candida Panel
The T2Candida Panel is the first sepsis pathogen diagnostic that provides species-specific results in three to five hours without the need for blood culture, which can take up to six days to provide a result. The rapid detection of Candida enables physicians to provide targeted treatment quickly, and research has shown this can reduce a positive sepsis patient's length of stay in the hospital by almost nine days at a cost savings of approximately $26,887. A rapid negative result can prevent unnecessary administration of antimicrobials, further reducing costs. In addition, a rapid negative result can prevent or reduce antimicrobial resistance, which the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has designated a serious threat.
About Candida
Candidemia is a systemic fungal infection that occurs when Candida organisms in the blood spread to organs and tissues throughout the body. Candidemia is the fourth leading hospital-acquired bloodstream infection and the most lethal form of common bloodstream infection that cause sepsis, according to the Center for Disease Control (CDC), with an approximate 40 percent mortality rate. In the absence of a rapid, accurate diagnostic, appropriate therapeutic intervention for candidemia is often delayed, resulting in a mortality rate that is three to four times higher than when early, targeted therapy is initiated. According to a study published in Antimicrobial Agents and Chemotherapy, the mortality rate can be reduced to 11 percent with the initiation of targeted therapy within 12 hours of presentation of symptoms. On average, candidemic patients require 40 days of hospitalization and have a hospital cost of $130,000.
About T2 Biosystems
T2 Biosystems is focused on developing innovative diagnostic products to improve patient health. With two FDA-cleared products targeting sepsis and a range of additional products in development, T2 Biosystems is an emerging leader in the field of in vitro diagnostics. The Company is utilizing its proprietary T2 Magnetic Resonance platform, or T2MR, to develop a broad set of applications aimed at lowering mortality rates, improving patient outcomes and reducing the cost of healthcare by helping medical professionals make targeted treatment decisions earlier. T2MR enables the fast and sensitive detection of pathogens, biomarkers and other abnormalities in a variety of unpurified patient sample types, including whole blood, eliminating the time-consuming sample prep required in current methods. For more information, please visit www.t2biosystems.com.
Forward-Looking Statements
This press release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. All statements contained in this press release that do not relate to matters of historical fact should be considered forward-looking statements. These forward-looking statements are based on management's current expectations. These statements are neither promises nor guarantees, but involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other important factors that may cause actual results, performance or achievements to be materially different from any future results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by the forward-looking statements, including, but not limited to, the performance of the Company's diagnostic products and the ability to bring such products to market. These and other important factors discussed under the caption "Risk Factors" in the Company's Annual Report on Form 10-K filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission on March 4, 2015, could cause actual results to differ materially from those indicated by the forward-looking statements made in this press release. Any such forward-looking statements represent management's estimates as of the date of this press release. While the Company may elect to update such forward-looking statements at some point in the future, it disclaims any obligation to do so, even if subsequent events cause its views to change. These forward-looking statements should not be relied upon as representing the Company's views as of any date subsequent to the date of this press release.