LEXINGTON, Mass., Jan. 23, 2019 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- T2 Biosystems, Inc. (NASDAQ:TTOO), a leader in the development of innovative diagnostic products for critical unmet needs in healthcare, announced today that Tom Lowery, Ph.D., chief scientific officer, will present to the Presidential Advisory Council on Combating Antibiotic-Resistant Bacteria (PACCARB) on Wednesday, January 30, 2019, in Washington, DC. The purpose of the panel presentations is to provide information to the PACCARB in support of their current task from the Secretary of Health and Human Services—of identifying new priority areas for the next iteration of the U.S. Government’s 2020-2025 National Action Plan for Combating Antibiotic-Resistant Bacteria.

The presentation, Earlier Effective Antibiotic Therapy through Culture Independent Diagnostics, will focus on clinical experiences that demonstrate how T2 Biosystems’ proprietary diagnostic detection method, T2 Magnetic Resonance (T2MR^®) technology, achieves earlier targeted effective antibiotic therapy for patients suffering from bloodstream infections. He will also share the Company’s portfolio of diagnostic tools, developed for rapid identification of sepsis-causing pathogens and resistance genes. Among other technologies, the portfolio includes the T2Bacteria® Panel and T2Candida® Panel, the only FDA-cleared assays available to U.S. healthcare providers today for sepsis pathogen detection without the need for blood culture.

“Right now, patients are being treated for infections empirically without knowing if they are actually infected, often exposing them to incorrect or unnecessary antibiotic therapy. This greatly decreases their chances of survival and increases the problem of antimicrobial resistance,” said Lowery. “With the advent of culture-independent tests like ours, the era of blindly guessing on patient therapy can end. Now patients can and should be treated based on knowledge of what pathogen is infecting them early in the progression of disease, rather than days later.”

Lowery continued, “The appropriate and rapid delivery of targeted antibiotics is critical for addressing our nation’s antibiotic resistance crisis. We must have a change in how patients are being treated for bloodstream infections and sepsis or current generations will continue to unnecessarily die and future generations will have a diminished armament of antibiotics. I am honored to have the opportunity to present our data and describe the new opportunity T2 Biosystems technology enables to improved patient care to PACCARB.”

The invitation to present stemmed from T2 Biosystems’ participation in a plenary session at the World Anti-Microbial Resistance Congress held in October 2018, and comes at a particularly relevant time for the Company. T2 Biosystems has received a $2.0-million award from CARB-X, which is funded by the Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority (BARDA), a government agency at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, the Wellcome Trust, a global charitable foundation based in the U.K. the UK Department of Health and Social Care’s Global Antimicrobial Resistance Innovation Fund, and the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, with in-kind support from National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), part of the US National Institutes of Health (NIH).  The award is supporting the development of T2 Biosystems’ T2Carba Resistance+™ Panel, which detects gram-negative carbapenem-resistance genes direct from whole blood in 3 to 5 hours.

“CARB-X’s mission to drive antibacterial innovation and combat the growing threat of antimicrobial resistance is shared by our organization, and we feel privileged to continue this partnership in 2019,” said John McDonough, president and chief executive officer of T2 Biosystems. “The T2Carba Resistance+™ Panel, which will be touched upon in the PACCARB presentation, is yet another example of how T2 Biosystems continues to drive innovation in rapid diagnostics designed to not only address antimicrobial resistance, but also to help decrease the mortality rates associated with sepsis.”

The meeting, which is open to the public, will hone in on new core focuses since the original National Action Plan on Combating Antibiotic Resistant Bacteria (CARB) was initiated in 2015.

PACCARB PRESENTATION – January 30, 2019

PANEL 4: Vaccines and Diagnostics
Moderator: Kathy Talkington
Time: 2:40 – 2:50 p.m.           
Title: Earlier Effective Antibiotic Therapy through Culture Independent Diagnostics
Presenter: Tom Lowery, Ph.D., T2 Biosystems

How to Join the Presentation Remotely:
Call-in Information (Listen-only)
Dial-in: 1-203-607-0666
International Dial-In: 877-951-7311
Public Passcode: 6213597

Webcast Information
The meeting can be accessed through a live webcast on the day of the meeting. Live Webcast: www.hhs.gov/live

About T2 Biosystems
T2 Biosystems, a leader in the development and commercialization of innovative medical diagnostic products for critical unmet needs in healthcare, is dedicated to improving patient care and reducing the cost of care by helping clinicians effectively treat patients faster than ever before. T2 Biosystems’ products include the T2Dx® Instrument, T2Candida® Panel, and T2Bacteria® Panel and are powered by the proprietary T2 Magnetic Resonance (T2MR®) technology. T2 Biosystems has an active pipeline of future products, including products for the detection of additional species and antibiotic resistance markers of sepsis pathogens, and tests for Lyme disease.              

About CARB-X
CARB-X is the world's largest public-private partnership devoted to supporting early development antibacterial R&D. Funded by ASPR/BARDA, Wellcome Trust, the UK Government Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC)’s Global AMR Innovation Fund (GAMRIF), and the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, with in-kind support from NIAID, CARB-X is investing more than $500 million from 2016-2021 to support the development of innovative therapeutics, vaccines, diagnostics, devices and other life-saving products. CARB-X supports research focused on high priority drug-resistant bacteria, especially Gram-negatives. CARB-X is headquartered at the Boston University School of Law. www.carb-x.org. Follow us on Twitter @CARB_X.

Media Contact:
Gina Kent
gkent@vaultcommunications.com
610.455.2763

Investor Contact:
Zack Kubow, W2O Group
zkubow@w2ogroup.com
415-946-1053 

Source: T2 Biosystems, Inc.