OpGen Subsidiary Ares Genetics GmbH Enters into Collaboration Agreement with the Belgian National Reference Centre for Invasive S. pneumoniae at UZ Leuven
- Collaborators aim to develop and evaluate computation tools, including predictive models for whole genome sequencing-based antibiotic susceptibility testing (wgsAST)
- Ares plans to strategically expand its proprietary AMR knowledgebase ARESdb with data collected during the collaboration
- Ares to deploy the commercial AREScloud web application at UZ Leuven to support pathogen typing, AMR characterization and outbreak analysis
OpGen, Inc. (Nasdaq: OPGN, “OpGen”) announced today that its subsidiary Ares Genetics GmbH (Ares Genetics), which strives to become a leader in bacterial genomics and the Artificial Intelligence (AI)-powered prediction of antimicrobial resistance (AMR), and the Belgian National Reference Centre for invasive S. pneumoniae at the Universitair Ziekenhuis Leuven (UZ Leuven) have entered into a collaboration agreement to jointly evaluate computational tools developed by Ares Genetics for the identification and characterization of Streptococcus pneumoniae for diagnostic purposes.
AMR is a serious threat to public health. Over five years, the estimated number of annual deaths that might have been prevented by effective antimicrobial therapy has grown by 81% to approximately 1.27 million deaths.1,2 Among other AMR pathogens, the U.S. Center of Disease Control has classified drug-resistant Streptococcus pneumoniae as a serious antibiotic resistant threat on its website.3
Ares Genetics and UZ Leuven aim to employ machine learning tools for antibiotic susceptibility testing of Streptococcus pneumoniae directly from whole genome sequencing data. The AI-based wgsAST technology developed by Ares Genetics4 relies on predictive models which are trained on ARESdb, a proprietary AMR knowledgebase and collection of pathogen genome data and associated data on phenotypic antibiotic susceptibility and resistance.
“We are excited to jointly demonstrate and advance the utility of antibiotic susceptibility prediction directly from genome data. AMR in respiratory pathogens, including in Pneumococci, is a serious healthcare threat,” said Dr. Arne Materna, CEO of Ares Genetics. “We welcome the collaboration with the experts at UZ Leuven tasked with the national surveillance of Streptococcus pneumoniae. Partnerships with national reference and public health laboratories allow us to aggregate current data on AMR in key pathogens, to further enrich our ARESdb, and in turn to deploy an up-to-date AI for wgsAST where it matters.”
The collaboration with UZ Leuven follows after another collaboration agreement between Ares Genetics and an unnamed international commercial reference laboratory had been announced in 2021.
Ares Genetics plans to expand ARESdb with data collected at the national reference center, to develop and deploy wgsAST models for Streptococcus pneumoniae, and to jointly evaluate their performance compared to conventional methods. In return for access to genome and AMR phenotype data, Ares Genetics will deploy AREScloud at the National Reference Centre for invasive S. pneumoniae at UZ Leuven. AREScloud is a commercially available, user-friendly bioinformatics web application for pathogen detection, typing, AMR characterization and outbreak analysis. Unlike other commercial solutions, AREScloud draws on ARESdb to provide rich information on AMR and to offer unique wgsAST capabilities to its users.
About OpGen, Inc.
OpGen, Inc. (Rockville, MD, USA) is a precision medicine company harnessing the power of molecular diagnostics and bioinformatics to help combat infectious disease. Along with our 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 the ARES Technology Platform including ARESdb®, using NGS technology and AI-powered bioinformatics solutions for antibiotic response prediction.
For more information, please visit www.opgen.com.
OpGen:
Oliver Schacht
President and CEO
InvestorRelations@opgen.com