T2 Biosystems Presents New T2Sepsis Results at ASM Conference

T2 Biosystems, Inc. announced new data on the company’s T2Sepsis Solution, which includes the T2Bacteria and T2Candida Panels, presented by clinical experts at the ASM Microbe 2017 conference in New Orleans, LA., on June 1-5. The T2Candida Panel is FDA-cleared and the T2Bacteria Panel is currently in clinical trials in the US and performance evaluations in the EU and is currently available for Research Use Only (RUO) in the US.

Dr. Cornelius Clancy, MD, Director of the Mycology Program and Chief of the Infectious Diseases Section at VA Pittsburgh Healthcare System, participated in “Debates in Medical Mycology” featuring the T2Candida Panel. “I was pleased to see that T2Candida has become a standard during any discussion regarding rapid diagnostics and antimicrobial stewardship,” said Dr. Clancy. “I believe that the hospitals using it are seeing strong value for their patients as well as better management of the drugs that lead to high resistance and costs.”

In the Science and Industry Showcase, “Managing Sepsis in the Golden Hour: Controlling Costs and Improving Patient Care through Diagnostic Testing,” Dr. Thomas Kirn, MD, PHD, Rutgers Robert Wood Johnson Medical School, and Dr. Jonathan D. Edwards, Pharm.D., BCPS (AQ-ID), BCGP, Huntsville Hospital, discussed the economic and clinical benefits of the T2Sepsis Solution’s direct-from-whole blood tests at their hospitals.

“With the T2Sepsis Solution, our hospital is not only reducing the use of antifungal therapy, we’re also identifying far more infected patients than was possible with blood culture,” said Dr. Edwards.

Dr. Edwards reported the following findings from Huntsville Hospital:

• T2Candida detects more Candida infections, days faster than blood culture.
• T2Candida provides superior sensitivity as compared to blood culture (94.4% vs. 28% sensitivity). Blood culture missed 26 confirmed Candida infections.
• Negative T2Candida results led to cessation or no initiation of antifungal therapy in 64% of patients.
• T2Candida improves hospital economics through de-escalation/non-initiation of unnecessary antifungals. T2Candida negative results decreased duration of micafungin by 2.1 days.

Dr. Thomas Kirn reported that Robert Wood Johnson Medical School is including the T2Candida Panel as a standard order in their sepsis protocol. Dr. Kirn reported that:

• Negative T2Candida results led to cessation or no initiation of antifungal therapy in 67% of patients.
• T2Candida would be most effective in standard, automated ordering practices.

Dr. Kirn also presented preliminary information about Robert Wood Johnson Medical School’s experience as part of the T2Bacteria pivotal trial. Dr. Kirn reported that initial data generated at their institution suggest that the T2Bacteria Panel may be identifying patients that would likely be missed by blood culture due to its insensitivity.

In the Science and Industry Showcase, “Application of Rapid, Blood Culture-Free Diagnostics in the Emergency Department: Improving the Signal to Noise Ratio,” Dr. Mitchell J. Cohen, M.D., Director of Surgery at the Denver Health and the University of Colorado School of Medicine, discussed the important role the T2Sepsis Solution may play in the emergency department.

“In the emergency department, rapid and precise results are critical to triage, treat, and make admission decisions in the best interest of the patient,” said Dr. Cohen. “The T2Sepsis Solution has the potential to provide the rapid results and high sensitivity necessary to make it a valuable tool for the management of infections that lead to sepsis in the ED.”

Dr. Cohen reported that T2Bacteria can be easily integrated in the emergency department setting due to its rapid turnaround time, while blood culture-reliant tests cannot.

“There was excitement and high quality, inbound interest from our target market during ASM Microbe 2017 Conference,” said John McDonough, president and chief executive officer. “There is growing evidence of improved patient care and hospital savings with T2Candida and market enthusiasm about T2Bacteria.”