OpGen Subsidiary Curetis and Leader Life Sciences Enter into Unyvero Distribution Partnership for U.A.E. and Qatar

Rhea-AI Summary

OpGen (Nasdaq: OPGN) announced a three-year exclusive distribution agreement with Leader Life Sciences for its Unyvero systems in the U.A.E. and Qatar. Leader Life Sciences will purchase at least 8 Unyvero systems, contributing approximately $1 million in revenue. The partnership aims to enhance pathogen detection and antibiotic resistance monitoring, addressing the high occurrence of healthcare-associated infections in the region. Leader Life Sciences is tasked with obtaining regulatory clearance and will invest significantly in marketing the Unyvero product line.

Positive

• Exclusive distribution agreement potentially generating $1 million in revenue.
• Leader Life Sciences will purchase a minimum of 8 Unyvero systems.
• Opportunity to expand Unyvero products into additional Middle Eastern markets.

Negative

• None.

• Exclusive distribution agreement for initial term of three years
• Leader Life Sciences commits to minimum purchase of 8 Unyvero systems during initial term   
• Leader Life Sciences to seek regulatory clearance for Unyvero products in U.A.E. and Qatar
  

ROCKVILLE, Md., June 09, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- OpGen, Inc. (Nasdaq: OPGN, “OpGen”), a precision medicine company harnessing the power of molecular diagnostics and bioinformatics to help combat infectious disease, announced today that its subsidiary Curetis GmbH has entered into a distribution agreement with Leader Life Sciences via their trading company Leader Medical Supplies Trading LLC, part of the Leader Healthcare Group, for distribution of Unyvero systems in the United Arab Emirates and Qatar. Leader Healthcare Group is one of the Middle East region’s leading distributors and has a presence in markets such as Saudi Arabia, Oman, and Egypt.

Under the distribution agreement, Leader Life Sciences has the exclusive rights to commercialize the Curetis Unyvero A50 instrument system and its full suite of Unyvero infectious disease diagnostic application cartridges in U.A.E. and Qatar. The distribution agreement has an initial term of three years and can be extended in one-year increments. In return, Leader Life Sciences has committed to significant minimum purchases of Unyvero instruments and application cartridges during the initial three-year term, amounting to a total of at least 8 Unyvero systems plus significant numbers of Unyvero cartridges for a total deal value during its initial term of approximately $1 million in transfer-price based revenue to OpGen. Leader Life Sciences is responsible for product registration in its territories and has committed to significantly invest in the market introduction of the Unyvero product line in U.A.E. and Qatar.

“With a significant number of hospitalized patients suffering from healthcare-associated infections in the Middle East, we believe that a rapid and comprehensive detection of the pathogens and their antibiotic resistance markers with Unyvero will help to improve outcomes for patients with severe infections while supporting the antibiotic stewardship efforts that are high on the agenda of healthcare providers in the region,” said Oliver Schacht, CEO of OpGen. “We are very pleased to work with Leader Life Sciences as a highly committed partner in making Unyvero widely available in the region. This partnership strengthens our commercial presence in the Middle East region and is in alignment with our core commercialization strategy to expand our global presence as industry leaders in the molecular diagnostics and bioinformatics space. We anticipate working closely with Leader Life Sciences and the team over the coming years and anticipate the opportunity to explore potential expansion into additional countries in the region in the years ahead.”

"The Curetis-Leader Life Sciences strategic partnership is a powerful combination. Curetis' understanding in development of molecular diagnostic products for more than a decade leading to immense improvement in patient outcomes is uniquely complementary to how Leader Life Sciences' team works. We believe this alliance will assist in bringing new revolutions in the industry," said Sukhdeep Sachdev, the Global CEO of Leader Healthcare Group. "With operations spread across the region, along with close-to-client location reach and added capabilities of the cherry-picked team of Leader Life Sciences' well qualified individuals in different domains, this collaborative effort will allow us to drive far more impact for our clients."

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.

Forward-Looking Statements

This press release includes statements regarding the entry into an exclusive distribution agreement with Leader Life Sciences. These statements and other statements regarding OpGen’s future plans and goals 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 and are intended to qualify for the safe harbor from liability established by the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Such statements are subject to risks and uncertainties that are often difficult to predict, are beyond our control, and which may cause results to differ materially from expectations. Factors that could cause our results to differ materially from those described include, but are not limited to, the success of our commercialization efforts, our ability to successfully, timely and cost-effectively develop, seek and obtain regulatory clearance for and commercialize our product and services offerings, the rate of adoption of our products and services by hospitals and other healthcare providers, the fact that we may not effectively use proceeds from recent financings, the continued realization of expected benefits of our business combination transaction with Curetis GmbH, the continued impact of COVID-19 on the Company’s operations, financial results, and commercialization efforts as well as on capital markets and general economic conditions, our ability to satisfy debt obligations under our loan with the European Investment Bank, the effect of the military action in Russia and Ukraine on our distributors, collaborators and service providers, our liquidity and working capital requirements, the effect on our business of existing and new regulatory requirements, and other economic and competitive factors. For a discussion of the most significant risks and uncertainties associated with OpGen's business, please review our filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. You are cautioned not to place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements, which are based on our expectations as of the date of this press release and speak only as of the date of this press release. We undertake no obligation to publicly update or revise any forward-looking statement, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.

OpGen:
Oliver Schacht
President and CEO
InvestorRelations@opgen.com

OpGen Press Contact:
Matthew Bretzius 
FischTank Marketing and PR
matt@fischtankpr.com

OpGen Investor Contact:
Alyssa Factor
Edison Group
afactor@edisongroup.com 

FAQ

What is the significance of the distribution agreement between OpGen and Leader Life Sciences?

The agreement allows Leader Life Sciences to exclusively distribute Unyvero systems in the U.A.E. and Qatar, potentially generating around $1 million for OpGen.

How many Unyvero systems will Leader Life Sciences purchase?

Leader Life Sciences has committed to purchasing a minimum of 8 Unyvero systems during the initial three-year term.

What markets will the Unyvero systems be available in?

Unyvero systems will be distributed in the United Arab Emirates and Qatar.

What is the expected revenue from the deal with Leader Life Sciences?

The deal is expected to generate approximately $1 million in revenue for OpGen.

What responsibilities does Leader Life Sciences have under the agreement?

Leader Life Sciences is responsible for regulatory clearance and marketing the Unyvero products in its territories.