OpGen Group Company Ares Genetics Nominated for Austrian Innovation Award for AI-powered Molecular Antibiotic Susceptibility Test

Ares Genetics nominated for the 40^th Austrian Innovation Award by Federal Ministry for Digital and Economic Affairs

ARESupa – Universal Pathogenome Assay nominated by expert jury for Austria’s most distinguished innovation award

VIENNA, Austria, and GAITHERSBURG, Md., Sept. 08, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- OpGen, Inc. (Nasdaq: OPGN, “OpGen”), announced today that its subsidiary Ares Genetics GmbH (Vienna, Austria; “Ares Genetics”) has been nominated for the 40^th Austrian Innovation Award (Ref. 1).

Ares Genetics has been selected by an expert jury as one of six finalists for its artificial intelligence (AI) powered, next-generation sequencing (NGS) based molecular antibiotic susceptibility test (AST) marketed under the brand name ARESupa – Universal Pathogenome Assay. The Austrian Innovation Award is awarded by the Federal Ministry for Digital and Economic Affairs and represents Austria’s most distinguished award for innovative companies. 

In a press release announcing the nominees (Ref. 1), Federal Minister for Digital and Economic Affairs Margarete Schramböck was quoted, “For the 40^th time, the Ministry of Digital and Economic Affairs awards the Austrian Innovation Award for outstanding innovations and top achievements. Particularly in current times, innovation plays a very important role: The [nominated] companies strengthen the competitiveness of [Austria as a] business hub and thereby sustainably secure jobs. Moreover, innovative projects are of particular importance to jointly emerge stronger from the current [Covid-19] crisis.”     

Information on antibiotic susceptibility of pathogens is of utmost importance for clinical practice, epidemiology and public health purposes as well as for the development of pharmaceutical products in the infectious disease sector. Ares Genetics has therefore developed the ARESupa – Universal Pathogenome Assay, which is capable of accurately predicting antibiotic susceptibility via AI-powered interpretation of high-throughput DNA sequencing data as demonstrated in a recent multi-center US study (Ref. 2). The ARESupa is based on whole-genome sequencing of bacterial strains isolated from clinical specimens, combined with data analysis and interpretation powered by ARESdb, Ares Genetics’ unique, proprietary reference database on genetic antimicrobial resistance markers. ARESdb covers genomes of more than 55,000 bacterial strains and associated susceptibility data for more than 100 different antibiotics.

The ARESupa had already been recognized with the MERCUR Innovation Award in the category Life Sciences 2019 (Ref. 3) and is currently offered by Ares Genetics for non-diagnostic applications in epidemiology, infection control, and outbreak analysis for customers in the public health sector and the pharmaceutical industry through the Company’s AI-powered bioinformatics platform .

References

1. Please refer to the original press release for the original statement by the Federal Minister for Digital and Economic Affairs Margarete Schramböck in German. The statement included here represents an unauthorized convenience translation.
2. Species Identification and Antibiotic Resistance Prediction by Analysis of Whole Genome Sequence Data Using ARESdb - An Analysis of Isolates from the Unyvero Lower Respiratory Tract Infection Trial. Ines Ferreira, Stephan Beisken, Lukas Lueftinger, Thomas Weinmaier, Matthias Klein, Johannes Bacher, Robin Patel, Arndt von Haeseler and Andreas E. Posch. 2020. Journal of Clinical Microbiology 58(7): e00273-20.

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 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.

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Forward-Looking Statements by OpGen

This press release includes statements regarding the nomination of OpGen’s subsidiary Ares Genetics GmbH for the Austrian national innovation award and Ares Genetics’ molecular antibiotic susceptibility test, ARESupa.  These statements and other statements regarding OpGen’s 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 realization of expected benefits of our business combination transaction with Curetis GmbH, 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 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.

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