/24-7PressRelease/ - DENVER, CO, July 15, 2007 - Accelr8 Technology Corporation (Amex:AXK) today announced that it has received acceptance notifications for two scientific poster presentations related to its rapid bacterial diagnostic methods, and a journal publication on its OptiChem surface coatings. The scientific posters will be presented at the 47th annual Interscience Conference on Antimicrobial Agents and Chemotherapy (ICAAC), held by the American Society for Microbiology (ASM) September 17-20. It is one of the world's leading scientific meetings for infectious diseases and microbiology, attended by more than 12,000 healthcare professionals.
The first presentation will describe the results of a rapid identification test of an important multiple-drug resistant organism - Acinetobacter - that can cause serious outbreaks in hospital intensive care units (ICUs). In addition, the US Army has identified the extraordinarily high incidence of infections by drug-resistant Acinetobacter in wounded soldiers. Research suggests that these do not originate from wound contamination in the field, but from within medical facilities along the evacuation route.
According to David Howson, Accelr8's president, "Acinetobacter has become an increasingly common cause of life-threatening infections that are difficult to identify and treat. Despite the urgent need, rapid identification tests do not exist, nor do commercial sources for antibodies to use in test kits. We've developed our own methods for efficient isolation of high-performance antibodies to use in our BACcel rapid diagnostic system. We are integrating the new identification agents with rapid testing to identify the major mechanisms of drug resistance in these ubiquitous and deadly organisms."
Multiply-resistant bacteria, often referred to in the press as "superbugs," can be very difficult to identify and treat because they are resistant to multiple classes of antibiotics.
The new study demonstrates rapid identification of Acinetobacter extracted from lung fluid specimens using Accelr8's culture-free methods. The novel test only takes a few hours, rather than the two- to three-day turnaround required for culturing.
The other ICAAC presentation will report results for an advanced version of Accelr8's test to identify another "superbug" known as MRSA (methicillin resistant Staphylococcus aureus). The new study extends another recent study - presented May 22nd at ASM's 107th General Meeting - that described a pilot version of the test. The new study used the most-difficult to test S. aureus strains made available by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). The new results may be compared directly with those from standard laboratory tests and commercial products using the same bacterial strains and published by the CDC.
The journal Chemistry of Materials, published by the American Chemical Society, accepted a comprehensive study of the unique OptiChem coating. Co-authors include scientists from Accelr8 and from Colorado State University. The journal is a widely disseminated scientific publication that reports peer-reviewed original research of new materials and their applications. The research paper provides extensive characterization of the unique OptiChem surface chemistry. It describes methods to pattern the coating for bacterial and mammalian cell adhesion in specific areas while preventing adhesion elsewhere. It also describes various production methods and materials adaptability.
According to David Howson, Accelr8's president, "acceptance of these significant publications shows that expert scientific reviewers found that our studies demonstrate scientific merit and novelty. We are making rapid progress with additional tests to quickly identify the most threatening forms of antibiotic resistance seen in the ICU."
"At the time of publication, we will make printed copies of the studies available on our Web site," Howson concluded. The Web address for the company's publication list is http://www.accelr8.com/publications.php.
About Accelr8
Accelr8 Technology Corporation (www.accelr8.com) is a developer of innovative materials and instrumentation for advanced applications in medical instrumentation, basic research, drug discovery, and bio-detection. Accelr8 is developing rapid clinical pathogen platforms, the BACcel -1.0 and the BACcelr8r , based on its innovative surface coatings, assay processing, and detection technologies. In addition, Accelr8 licenses certain of its proprietary technology for use in applications outside of Accelr8's own products.
Certain statements in this news release may be "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended. Statements regarding future prospects and developments are based upon current expectations and involve certain risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results and developments to differ materially from the forward-looking statement, including those detailed in the company's filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Accelr8 does not undertake an obligation to publicly update or revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information or future events.
Contact
John Metzger, of Metzger Associates
+1.303.786.7000, ext. 2202
john@metzger.com
OR
Tom Geimer, of Accelr8 Technology Corp.
+1.303.863.8088
tom.geimer@accelr8.com
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