LEXINGTON, Mass., June 2, 2015 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- T2 Biosystems, Inc. (Nasdaq:TTOO) a company developing innovative diagnostic products to improve patient health, today announced the presentation of results from an investigational study evaluating the T2Candida® Panel utilizing only 2mL of blood from pediatric patients at the 115th General Meeting of the American Society for Microbiology (asm2015) in New Orleans. The data presented today demonstrate that in each of the 15 confirmed candidemia pediatric patient samples in the study, T2Candida was able to accurately identify the Candida species in three to five hours compared to two to six days for blood culture. In addition, the protocol was adapted in this study to be able to detect results from just 2mL of blood compared to the 3mL that is currently required for testing. The T2Candida Panel was cleared for marketing by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in September 2014 for the detection of sepsis causing Candida. T2Candida Panel performance was established in adult subjects. T2Candida Panel performance in neonates, infants, and pediatric patients has not been established.
"Fast and accurate results have been a challenge to obtain in pediatric patients suspected of sepsis due to the volume of blood required by current diagnostic procedures," said Camille Hamula, Ph.D., D(ABMM), assistant director, microbiology and assistant professor, pathology, Mount Sinai Hospital/Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai and lead investigator on the study who presented the findings. "This new loading procedure maintains the high accuracy and fast results of the T2Candida Panel, but with lower sample volume, which could have an important impact on the lives of young patients at risk of sepsis."
"We are encouraged by these findings demonstrating that our T2Candida Panel was able to provide accurate results from lower blood volumes, which is critical in the pediatric patient population," said John McDonough, president and CEO of T2 Biosystems. "Similar to adults, the ability to quickly and accurately detect sepsis in children can help save costs, but more importantly, save lives."
About the Study
The study included 15 confirmed candidemia patients between the ages of five and 12 years of age. Key findings from the study included:
- The T2Candida panel achieved accurate results with only 2mL of blood using a manual pipetting procedure instead of the 3mL volume required with the standard loading procedure;
- The T2Candida Panel provided accurate identification of the species for all 15 patients in the study; and
- All results were reported within three-to-five hours, compared to approximately two to six days for blood culture.
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 causes 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.