BEVERLY, Mass., Feb. 07, 2019 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — LexaGene Holdings Inc. (OTCQB: LXXGF; TSX-V: LXG) (the “Company”), a biotechnology company that develops genetic analyzers for pathogen detection and other molecular markers, announced today that its LX technology has successfully detected the presence of two different pathogens from a single clinical urine sample in some of the first samples tested in the Company’s recently initiated clinical study.
Dr. Jack Regan, LexaGene’s CEO and Founder states, “We are excited to report early findings of our clinical study, as these first results demonstrate how LexaGene’s technology is capable of detecting multiple pathogens at once, a significant advantage over existing methods. Currently, veterinarians have only two options for diagnosing urinary tract infections: Reference laboratory testing, which takes 2 – 5 days and immunoassay testing, which detects less than half of low titer samples and does not identify the causative pathogen or determine whether more than one pathogen is present. Veterinary diagnostics is a $4.3B market desperately in need of better in-clinic diagnostics. LexaGene’s soon to be first-of-its-kind analyzer will provide vet hospitals with the advantages of reference laboratory-quality testing in just one hour rather than waiting days.”
In the first samples tested in LexaGene’s clinical study, the LX technology successfully detected two urine samples that were infected with multiple pathogens. Generally, urinary infections in dogs are caused by only a single organism. The first dual infection was found to be positive for Staphylococcus spp. and Enterococcus spp., whereas the second was positive for both E. coli and Enterococcus spp. It was also determined that LX technology detected both Staphylococcus spp. and E. coli despite the fact that these bacteria had died during storage and shipping to our facility. The Company’s genomics-based technology provides a distinct advantage because it is less likely to have a false negative which would lead to ineffective treatment plans for the patient.
Every year in the United States, millions of urine tests are performed, with the vast majority of these tests being for symptoms related to UTI. When veterinarians ship collected samples to a reference laboratory, results are generally returned in 2 – 5 days, forcing veterinarians to empirically treat their patients, which often results in ineffective or even altogether unnecessary antibiotic usage. LexaGene’s technology is expected to allow veterinarians to process urine samples ‘in-house’, where the fast turn-around-times can drastically improve the quality of care they provide.
Dr. Regan went on to say, “This finding highlights the power of bringing genomics-based testing to veterinary hospitals, as these preliminary results demonstrate both the sensitivity of our technology and the breadth of our detection capabilities. As we continue to process more samples for this study, I look forward to sharing the full results of our clinical trial in the coming weeks. Now, we are one step closer to our goal of providing veterinarians – as well as other targeted industries such as food safety – a gold-standard for in-house sample processing. Our upcoming plans to conduct a clinical study aimed at food safety will provide similar data, we expect, that shows a significant advantage over current methods of testing.”
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About LexaGene Holdings Inc.
LexaGene is a biotechnology company commercializing the very first easy-to-use, fully automated, genetic analyzer that is open-access. The open-access feature empowers end-users to target any genetic sequence of interest, whether of pathogen or human origin. To take advantage of the open-access feature, end-users simply need to load their own real-time PCR assays onto the instrument to customize their tests or run validated assays the company is developing. LexaGene’s analyzers offer excellent sensitivity, specificity, and breadth of pathogen detection while returning results in about 1 hour. The company expects to sell its technology in the food safety and veterinary diagnostics markets, as well as to markets that need easy-to-use customized testing such as biotechnology and pharmaceutical companies, academia, and institutions performing water quality monitoring, aquaculture pathogen surveillance, and others.
Media Contacts
Nicole Ridgedale
Director of Corporate Marketing, LexaGene
800.215.1824 ext 206
nridgedale@lexagene.com
Investor Relations
Jay Adelaar
Vice President of Capital Markets, LexaGene
800.215.1824 ext 207
jadelaar@lexagene.com
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This news release contains forward-looking information, which involves known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that may cause actual events to differ materially from current expectation. Important factors — including the availability of funds, the results of financing efforts, the success of technology development efforts, the cost to procure critical parts, performance of the instrument, market acceptance of the technology, regulatory acceptance, and licensing issues — that could cause actual results to differ materially from the Company’s expectations as disclosed in the Company’s documents filed from time to time on SEDAR (see www.sedar.com). Readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements, which speak only as of the date of this press release. The company disclaims any intention or obligation, except to the extent required by law, to update or revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.