28 Nov 2016 07:06
28 November 2016
This announcement contains inside information
Akers Biosciences, Inc.
Clinical Trial for Diabetic Ketoacidosis Breath Test Completed
Akers Biosciences, Inc. (NASDAQ: AKER) (AIM: AKR.L), ("Akers Bio" or the "Company"), a developer of rapid health information technologies, has completed a clinical trial for BreathScan® DKA, the first single-use, non-invasive breath test to rapidly screen for diabetic ketoacidosis, a potentially life-threatening complication of diabetes caused by a lack of insulin in the body.
The clinical trial was performed at Thomas Jefferson University Hospital in Philadelphia, PA, on patients admitted to the emergency department with suspected ketoacidosis. The results were highly successful, with sensitivity (a true positive result) of 91% and specificity (a true negative result) of 93%. The overall agreement between the BreathScan® DKA test and the gold standard hospital blood test was 92%.
The BreathScan® DKA test utilizes Akers Bio's proprietary MPC Biosensor Technology, which permits the rapid identification of medical or metabolic conditions through biomarkers in exhaled breath condensate. BreathScan® DKA is a first-in-class device that detects the presence of ketones in a person's breath condensate. Ketones are present in the blood before they can be detected in urine; and breath and blood ketone levels are closely correlated.
Ketones are acids that have the potential to build up in the body causing a condition referred to as ketosis. An extreme form of this complication is ketoacidosis. At-risk populations for ketoacidosis include those with diabetes, and persons who subscribe to restrictive ketogenic diets for epilepsy management or to obtain aggressive weight loss results.
Current tests for this condition are primarily performed in a hospital or reference laboratory, and can take hours to produce a result. These tests must be run in a laboratory setting, by licensed technologists, on sophisticated and complex instrumentation. In contrast, BreathScan® DKA is intended for point-of-care or home use. The simple five-step procedure produces a color that is visually readable in two minutes. It can reduce the need for expensive and resource-intensive hospital visits because patients can be treated at home or in a doctor's office.
Importantly for patients, BreathScan® DKA is a significantly more comfortable testing format as it does not involve a fingerstick blood sample, but instead uses exhaled breath.
Raymond F. Akers, Jr., Ph.D., Vice Chairman of Akers Bio, commented:
"We believe the ability to help Type 1 and some Type 2 diabetics monitor their ketone levels in a non-invasive, more convenient way than is currently available will represent a significant advancement in the management of a disease that affects hundreds of millions of people worldwide. Moreover, BreathScan® DKA joins the growing number of our products that have the capacity to save people and healthcare providers substantial sums of money.
"This highly successful trial is a further validation of our MPC Biosensor technology for testing breath condensate. The ability to correlate a biomarker in breath with a similar - but different - biomarker in blood - which is a different sample matrix - is scientifically quite remarkable. We believe that our MPC Biosensor technology has only scratched the surface of its power to diagnose many disease states."
Akers Bio is pursuing FDA 510(k) market clearance in the US and the current study fulfills a requirement of this clearance. In addition, the Company is evaluating the regulatory requirements in the territories covered by its international distribution network. The Company will announce any developments with regards to the future commercialization of the test as and when appropriate.
For more information:
Akers Biosciences, Inc.
John J. Gormally, Chief Executive Officer
Raymond F. Akers, Jr. PhD, Vice Chairman
Tel. +1 856 848 8698
Taglich Brothers, Inc. (Investor Relations)
Chris Schreiber
Tel. +1 917 445 6207
Email: cs@taglichbrothers.com
finnCap (UK Nominated Adviser and Broker)
Adrian Hargrave / Scott Mathieson (Corporate Finance)
Steve Norcross (Broking)
Tel. +44 (0)20 7220 0500
Vigo Communications (Global Public Relations)
Ben Simons / Fiona Henson
Tel. +44 (0)20 7830 9700
Email: akers@vigocomms.com
About Akers Biosciences, Inc.
Akers Bio develops, manufactures, and supplies rapid screening and testing products designed to deliver quicker and more cost-effective healthcare information to healthcare providers and consumers. The Company has advanced the science of diagnostics while responding to major shifts in healthcare through the development of several proprietary platform technologies. The Company's state-of-the-art rapid diagnostic assays can be performed virtually anywhere in minutes when time is of the essence. The Company has aligned with major healthcare companies and high volume medical product distributors to maximize product offerings, and to be a major worldwide competitor in diagnostics.
Additional information on the Company and its products can be found at www.akersbio.com. Follow us on Twitter @AkersBio.
Cautionary Statement Regarding Forward Looking Statements
Statements contained herein that are not based upon current or historical fact are forward-looking in nature and 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. Such forward-looking statements reflect the Company's expectations about its future operating results, performance and opportunities that involve substantial risks and uncertainties. These statements include but are not limited to statements regarding the intended terms of the offering, closing of the offering and use of any proceeds from the offering. When used herein, the words "anticipate," "believe," "estimate," "upcoming," "plan," "target", "intend" and "expect" and similar expressions, as they relate to Akers Biosciences, Inc., its subsidiaries, or its management, are intended to identify such forward-looking statements. These forward-looking statements are based on information currently available to the Company and are subject to a number of risks, uncertainties, and other factors that could cause the Company's actual results, performance, prospects, and opportunities to differ materially from those expressed in, or implied by, these forward-looking statements.