OpGen Announces Award of German Government Grant Funding to its Subsidiary Curetis and Collaborators
28 October 2020 - 10:30PM
OpGen, Inc. (Nasdaq: OPGN, “OpGen”), a precision medicine company
harnessing the power of molecular diagnostics and bioinformatics to
help combat infectious disease, announced today the award of a
German Federal Government grant to its subsidiary, Curetis GmbH,
and collaborators Carpegen GmbH (Muenster, Germany) and the Clinic
for Small Animal Internal Medicine of the LMU Ludwig-Maximilians-
University (Munich, Germany).
The project which was originally initiated via the VetDx network
in Berlin and Brandenburg is set to receive funding under the
“Zentrales Innovationsprogramm Mittelstand” i.e., a central
innovation program for medium sized growth companies in
collaboration with academic institutions. The project will focus on
travel related and enteric diseases in small animals which is an
area of growing concern with increasing incidence rates. Several of
these diseases are caused by potential zoonotic pathogens that
could also be passed to humans, i.e. by looking at veterinary
applications one might also help prevent human diseases in the
future.
Currently there is no comparable rapid, automated,
cartridge-based sample to answer molecular diagnostic system that
would target these diseases, which the collaboration partners
believe will be needed to successfully address the unmet clinical
need. The primary project objective is to develop such a molecular
diagnostics platform for infectious diseases in small animals. The
3-year project starts on December 1st, 2020. Under the grant
project which has a volume of over half a million Euros, Curetis
expects to receive EUR 152,000 in non-dilutive funding during this
time.
Specifically, the project will be targeting travel related and
enteric diseases in small animals such as parasitic diseases and
viral infectious diseases. Curetis’ contribution will be focusing
on the development and integration of sample preparation and assays
onto the Unyvero A30 RQ platform, as well as integration of dried
reagents into the diagnostic test cartridges that run on the
system. Collaboration partner Carpegen will be focusing on the
development of dried reagents and on joint sample preparation and
assay development efforts together with the team at Curetis, while
the academic partner LMU will be responsible for sample acquisition
and prototype validation as well as for providing reference
strains.
“We are excited to collaborate with Carpegen and LMU on this
project which will help expand the use of our Unyvero A30 platform
in development. Developing rapid veterinary diagnostics tests on
such an automated platform will potentially open up future
commercial and partnering opportunities” said Oliver Schacht, PhD,
CEO of OpGen.
“We are really looking forward to participating in this exciting
project which is the first project of Carpegen targeting the
veterinary market” said Antje Roetger, PhD, CEO of Carpegen. “In
addition, we are very pleased that we have the ongoing opportunity
to work on a project involving OpGen’s Unyvero A30 RQ platform
since the first prototype of this promising platform was developed
within an R&D project led by Carpegen.”
“We are very happy for the opportunity to contribute to a new
point-of-care system in veterinary diagnostics. With an annual case
load of more than 5,000 patients as a first opinion and referral
clinic we experience every day the need for accurate and fast
diagnosis of infectious diseases. We consider it our obligation to
find solutions for our patients, the pet owners, and veterinarians
working in private practices by developing economical and
easy-to-use laboratory tests in collaboration with innovative
industry partners.” said Dr. Karin Weber, Head of Laboratory at the
Clinic for Small Animal Internal Medicine.
About LMU MunichThe Clinic for Small Animal
Internal Medicine as part of the LMU Munich is a leading academic
institution in the field of veterinary internal medicine for cats
and dogs and strives to actively participate in the development of
sustainable diagnostic systems for small animal medicine. With our
professional expertise we ensure that the products align with
market needs. As a university research group we would like to
contribute significantly to the progress of point-of-care systems
in veterinary medicine. As a university veterinary clinic we would
like to improve the diagnostic possibilities in small animal
medicine for the benefit of our animal patients.
About
CarpegenCarpegen (Muenster, Germany) is a provider
of high-quality molecular diagnostics. We focus on developing
real-time PCR assays and point-of-care systems for the diagnosis of
specific infections and the detection of genetic biomarkers.
Carpegen has developed Carpegen® Perio Diagnostics, a powerful
real-time PCR based system that sets new standards in dental
diagnostics. A main objective of Carpegen’s research program is to
develop and out-license POC/PCR systems for diverse applications in
medicine, as well as in food/beverage and environmental
analytics. Since 2020, Carpegen offers sensitive and
specific real-time PCR diagnostics for the detection of the
coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19).
About OpGen, Inc. OpGen, Inc.
(Gaithersburg, MD, USA) is a precision medicine company harnessing
the power of molecular diagnostics and bioinformatics to help
combat infectious disease. Along with its subsidiaries, Curetis
GmbH and Ares Genetics GmbH, we are developing and commercializing
molecular microbiology solutions helping to guide clinicians with
more rapid and actionable information about life threatening
infections to improve patient outcomes, and decrease the spread of
infections caused by multidrug-resistant microorganisms, or MDROs.
OpGen’s product portfolio includes Unyvero, Acuitas AMR Gene Panel
and Acuitas® Lighthouse, and the ARES Technology Platform including
ARESdb, using NGS technology and AI-powered bioinformatics
solutions for antibiotic response prediction.
For more information, please visit
www.opgen.com.
Forward-Looking StatementsThis
press release includes statements regarding the award of a grant
from the German government to Curetis GmbH and development efforts
in veterinary applications for the Unyvero A30 RQ platform. These
statements and other statements regarding OpGen’s products, their
commercialization and launch, 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 impact of
COVID-19 on the Company’s operations, financial results, and
commercialization efforts as well as on capital markets and general
economic conditions, the realization of expected benefits of our
business combination transaction with Curetis GmbH, 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. 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:Oliver
SchachtCEOInvestorRelations@opgen.com
Press Contact:Matthew
BretziusFischTank Marketing and PRmatt@fischtankpr.com
Investor Contact:Megan
PaulEdison Groupmpaul@edisongroup.com
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