GAITHERSBURG, Md., May 27, 2015 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- OpGen, Inc. (Nasdaq:OPGN), an early commercial stage molecular testing and bioinformatics company, today announced that new study data on its Acuitas^® MDRO Gene Test, Acuitas CR Elite Test, and Acuitas Lighthouse™ MDRO Management System will be presented at the 115^th General Meeting of the American Society of Microbiology, to be held from May 30 to June 2 in New Orleans. OpGen will host a satellite symposium, entitled "Standing Up to Superbugs: Technologies to Improve Management of Multi-drug Resistant Organisms," during the ASM2015 meeting.

"The research results from the OpGen product-related posters that will be presented at ASM2015 underscore the critical need for faster, more accurate ways for hospitals, healthcare systems, and public health agencies to detect multidrug resistant organisms (MDROs), and determine the genetic variability that guides the organisms' behavior and ability to cause infection," said Terry Walker, PhD, OpGen Senior Vice President, Research & Development. "We are excited to share data that can demonstrate how the Acuitas suite of products can be useful to hospital administrators and infection control professionals. We are also pleased to host a symposium that will help to shed more light on the importance of combining high resolution genetics and bioinformatics to improve management of MDROs."

Details for the four posters, and when they will be presented, follow:

1. Strain Typing and High Resolution Analysis of Antibiotic Resistance in Multidrug-Resistant Organisms (MDROs) by Whole Genome Sequencing. Poster Session 038. Antimicrobial Resistance and Susceptibility Testing: Gram-Negative (Division C), Sun, May 31, 12:30 - 1:45 PM Central time. OpGen's Acuitas Whole Genome Sequence Analysis using multilocus sequence typing (MLST+) analysis of 2,300 genes was compared to the Whole Genome Mapping™ System in resolving closely related clinical strains of E. coli and K. pneumoniae.

2. Acuitas CR Elite and Acuitas Lighthouse – A Genetic, Phenotypic and Bioinformatics Solution for Typing and Tracking MDROs. Poster Session 038. Antimicrobial Resistance and Susceptibility Testing: Gram-Negative (Division C), Sun, May 31, 12:30 - 1:45 PM Central time. The Acuitas CR Elite PCR-based assay and phenotype test, combined with the Acuitas Lighthouse MDRO Management System, in development, was used to test 500+ samples from seven hospitals to detect specific genes for antibiotic resistance.

3. The Detection of Carbapenemases in Carbapenem-Resistant Gram-Negative Bacteria from an Academic Medical Center. Poster Session 098. Identification/Detection: Multiplex I (Division C), Mon, Jun 1, 10:45 AM - 12:00 PM Central time. The Acuitas MDRO Gene Test was used to identify specific resistance genes testing clinical isolates from the University of Maryland Medical Center, including the ability to rank genes according to degree of resistance to antibiotics.

4. Comparing Culture Based Methods to a Novel PCR-Based Multiplex Assay to Detect Carbapenemase Genes in Perirectal Swabs. Poster Session 124. Identification/Detection: Multiplex II (Division C), Mon, Jun 1, 12:30 - 1:45 PM Central time. The Acuitas CR Elite Test was measured against the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) protocol based on cell culture in detecting carbapenemase-resistant enterococcus (CRE) in patients at Detroit Medical Center.

OpGen will host a satellite symposium, entitled "Standing Up to Superbugs: Technologies to Improve Management of Multi-drug Resistant Organisms," during the ASM2015 meeting on Monday, June 1, from 6:30-8:30 p.m. Central time at the Downtown Marriott Hotel in New Orleans. Topics and speakers include:

Managing Patients at Risk for MDRO Colonization and Infection
Keith S. Kaye, MD, MPH, Professor of Medicine
Corporate Vice President of Quality and Patient Safety
Corporate Medical Director, Infection Prevention, Epidemiology and Antimicrobial Stewardship
Detroit Medical Center and Wayne State University, University Health Center

Real-Time Genome Sequencing of Multidrug-Resistant Bacteria Enables Cost-Effective High Resolution Detection and Refutation of Nosocomial Transmissions 
Dag Harmsen, MD, Professor of Medical Microbiology, University of Münster, Germany

The Benefits of Molecular Screening and Surveillance for MDROs 
Lance R. Peterson, MD, Director of Microbiology and Infectious Diseases Research
Epidemiologist
Departments of Pathology/Lab Medicine and Medicine, NorthShore University HealthSystems
Clinical Professor University of Chicago Pritzker School of Medicine

Advancing MDRO DNA Detection & Bioinformatics: Acuitas® MDRO Tests and New Developments from OpGen
Terry Walker, PhD, Sr. Vice President, R&D
OpGen

About MDROs

Multi-drug resistant organisms (MDROs) are common bacteria that have developed resistance to multiple classes of antibiotics. They are a leading cause of hospital-acquired infections and are associated with an increase in morbidity and mortality. Each year, more than two million Americans acquire infections that are resistant to antibiotics and of those, 23,000 will die of those infections. Asymptomatic carriers are at a higher risk of an MDRO infection and become reservoirs for transmission to other patients in health care systems if not accurately identified early. Since there are many types of antibiotic resistant organisms, and the way they cause disease is dictated by their genetics, knowing the exact genetic profile of these organisms is a key step to preventing their ability to infect.

About OpGen

OpGen, Inc. is an early commercial stage company using molecular testing and bioinformatics to assist healthcare providers in combating multi-drug resistant bacterial infections. The company's products and services are designed to enable the rapid identification of hospital patients who are colonized or infected with life-threatening, multi-drug resistant organisms, or MDROs. The company's lead product is the Acuitas MDRO Gene Test. Products in development include the Acuitas Lighthouse MDRO Management System and the Acuitas Resistome Test. In addition, the company has more than 10 years of experience mapping microbial, plant and human genomes. Learn more at www.opgen.com.

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