Accelr8 Announces Collaboration with Denver Health Medical Center in Study of ICU Patients

Accelr8 Technology Corporation (Alternext: AXK) today announced that the company will collaborate with the Denver Health Medical Center (DHMC) in a study of ICU patients at risk for contracting ventilator-associated pneumonia (VAP). Denver Health is receiving funding for the study as a Team Science Award from the Colorado Clinical and Translational Sciences Institute (CCTSI, http://ctsa1.uchsc.edu). Accelr8 has provided analytical instrumentation to Denver Health for other studies, and in addition to the state funding will provide supplies needed to perform bacterial resistance analysis in this most recent study. Accelr8 will also provide related technical expertise.

The DHMC co-primary investigators are Ivor S. Douglas, MD and Connie S. Price, MD. Dr. Douglas is the Chief of Pulmonary Sciences and Critical Care Medicine. Dr. Price is the Chief of Infectious Diseases.

According to David Howson, Accelr8�s president, �this prospective study adds to a pilot retrospective chart study reported by Dr. Price at the ICAAC/IDSA annual meeting last October. The new study will be the first of its kind to analyze multiple bacterial species and resistance types with same-day results.�

According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), hospital-acquired infections kill almost 99,000 patients each year in the U.S. and VAP is the leading cause of mortality from these infections. In theory, none of these fatalities should have occurred because an effective antibiotic exists in virtually all cases. Widespread resistance to multiple antibiotics often causes initial therapy to fail because lab cultures take too long to identify an effective antibiotic out of the few available possibilities. With critically ill patients, delays in starting effective therapy lead to significant increases in mortality, length of ICU stay, and costs of care.

The purpose of the new study is to evaluate methods for substantially reducing the time to diagnosis by monitoring ventilated patients for the appearance of bacteria in the lungs, even before a patient begins to exhibit symptoms of pneumonia. The study�s investigators expect that this advanced surveillance should shorten the time required to diagnose the disease and start effective therapy.

Recent research also suggests that VAP may remain unrecognized in patients who become heavily infected, but whose clinical presentation does not indicate pneumonia. These unrecognized patients have a high mortality rate. Microbiological surveillance may offer the only means to identify such patients.

The study will compare two surveillance methods for patients at risk for VAP. ICU patients on mechanical ventilation will have samples taken from their lower airways on alternate days. Each patient sample will be tested by standard lab culturing, and by Accelr8�s methods for rapid identification of the organism and drug resistance types. Investigators will compare the results of the two methods when the culturing results become available. Culturing usually requires 48-72 hours, but the rapid analysis using Accelr8�s methods is expected to take less than 8 hours. The patient�s physician will be given the culturing results.

The investigators will measure the time to diagnosis for patients eventually diagnosed with VAP. Surveillance culturing may speed the diagnosis by identifying bacteria before symptoms become evident. Rapid analysis using Accelr8�s methods may further speed the diagnosis by reporting results 1-2 days sooner than culturing.

The investigators will use a �what if� scenario in each case as if the rapid data had been used to arrive at a diagnosis and antibiotic selection. The investigators will then compare the time needed to reach the antibiotic selection decision with each method.

In other matters, the company also stated that it had filed a plan with the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) and Alternext for compliance with Alternext listing rules.

About Accelr8

Accelr8 Technology Corporation (www.accelr8.com) is a developer of innovative materials and instrumentation for advanced applications in medical instrumentation, basic research, drug discovery, and bio-detection. Accelr8 is developing rapid clinical pathogen platforms, the BACcel� system based on its innovative surface coatings, assay processing, and detection technologies. In addition, Accelr8 licenses certain of its proprietary technology for use in applications outside of Accelr8�s own products.

Certain statements in this news release may be �forward-looking statements� within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended. Statements regarding future prospects and developments are based upon current expectations and involve certain risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results and developments to differ materially from the forward-looking statement, including those detailed in the company's filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Accelr8 does not undertake an obligation to publicly update or revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information or future events.

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