T2 Biosystems and Aridis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. Join Antimicrobials Working Group

WASHINGTON, Aug. 15, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- The Antimicrobials Working Group (AWG) announced today the addition of two new members to their group of 12 companies with the mission to combat drug resistant infections and spur life-saving innovations. T2 Biosystems, Inc. (NASDAQ:TTOO), is an emerging leader in the development of innovative diagnostic products to improve patient health, and is AWG's first diagnostic member company. Aridis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. is a biopharmaceutical company applying proprietary technologies to produce novel immunotherapeutics for infectious diseases.

"Diagnostics play a vital role in providing the best possible patient care and combatting the global health threat of antimicrobial resistance," said Jeffrey Stein, Ph.D., president and chief executive officer of Cidara Therapeutics and Chairman of the AWG. "T2 Biosystems is a leading innovator in the field and their T2MR detection technology enables the delivery of life-saving medicines more rapidly to patients and reduces the use of unnecessary drug exposure. We're excited to have their expertise in the fight against superbugs and drug resistant infections. In addition, I believe that immunotherapeutics, such as those being developed by Aridis, represent the wave of the future and will become an increasingly important source of potent, highly selective treatments in our antimicrobial armamentarium."

"T2 is proud to become the first diagnostic company member of the AWG," said John McDonough, President & CEO of T2 Biosystems. "We look forward to adding our voice along with the rest of the AWG membership to help improve the regulatory, investment and commercial environment for emerging companies."

Vu Truong, Ph.D., Founder and CEO of Aridis said: "We welcome the opportunity to work with the AWG membership, regulators and policymakers to help revitalize the pipeline of new antimicrobial drugs. The AWG has been very influential in their work to date and we are excited to contribute to these critically important efforts."

About T2 Biosystems

T2 Biosystems is dedicated to developing innovative diagnostic products to improve patient health. With the FDA-cleared T2Dx® Instrument and T2Candida® Panel targeting sepsis and a range of additional products in development, T2 Biosystems is an emerging leader in the field of in vitro diagnostics. The Company is utilizing its proprietary T2 Magnetic Resonance technology, or T2MR, to develop a broad set of applications aimed at lowering mortality rates, improving patient outcomes and reducing the cost of healthcare by helping medical professionals make targeted treatment decisions earlier. T2MR enables the fast and sensitive detection of pathogens, biomarkers and other abnormalities in a variety of patient sample types, including whole blood. For more information, please visit www.t2biosystems.com.

About Aridis Pharmaceuticals, Inc.

Aridis is a privately held biopharmaceutical company applying proprietary monoclonal antibody discovery technology MabIgX® to produce novel infectious disease focused therapies. Aridis' product pipeline includes AR-101 (or 'Aerumab™') anti-Pseudomonas aeruginosa LPS human monoclonal antibody; AR-301 (or 'Salvecin®') anti-Staphylococcus aureus human monoclonal antibody to treat acute pneumonia; Aerucin®, a broadly reactive monoclonal antibody against Pseudomonas aeruginosa initially being developed to treat acute pneumonia; Panaecin™, a small molecule anti-infective gallium compound with broad spectrum activities against bacteria, viruses, and fungi; AR- 401 anti-Acinetobacter baumannii human monoclonal antibody; and AR-201 anti-RSV human monoclonal antibody.

About The Antimicrobials Working Group

AWG was founded in 2012 with the vision of utilizing collective power to improve the regulatory, investment, and commercial environment for emerging antibiotics and antifungal companies. Today, AWG is comprised of fourteen antimicrobials and diagnostics companies: Amplyx Pharmaceuticals, Aridis Pharmaceuticals, Arsanis Inc., Cidara Therapeutics Inc., ContraFect Corporation, Iterum Therapeutics Ltd., Melinta Therapeutics Inc., Nabriva Therapeutics US Inc., Paratek Pharmaceuticals Inc., SCYNEXIS Inc., T2 Biosystems Inc., Theravance Biopharma U.S. Inc., Viamet Pharmaceuticals Inc., and Zavante Therapeutics Inc. For more information, please visit www.antimicrobialsworkinggroup.org.

About The Conafay Group

The Conafay Group is a life-sciences government relations firm based in Washington D.C. that serves as Washington counsel and coalition manager for AWG, led by Stephen R. Conafay, Principal. For more information, please visit www.conafaygroup.com.

SOURCE Antimicrobials Working Group (AWG)