T2Bacteria Panel is the First and Only In-Vitro Diagnostic Test to Receive Approval for a New Technology Add-on Payment by CMS

LEXINGTON, Mass., Aug. 06, 2019 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- T2 Biosystems, Inc. (NASDAQ:TTOO) an emerging leader in the development and commercialization of innovative medical diagnostic products for critical unmet needs in healthcare, announced today that the United States Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) granted approval for a New Technology Add-on Payment (NTAP) for the T2Bacteria^® Panel for FY 2020.

The T2Bacteria Panel, the first and only FDA-cleared test to identify sepsis-causing bacterial pathogens directly from whole blood in 3 to 5 hours without the need to wait for blood culture, is now also the first and only in-vitro diagnostic test to ever receive approval for NTAP.  In its FY 2020 inpatient prospective payments system final rule, CMS explained: “the T2Bacteria Test Panel represents a substantial clinical improvement over existing technologies because it reduces the proportion of patients on inappropriate therapy, thus reducing the rate of subsequent diagnostic or therapeutic intervention as well as length of stay and mortality rates caused by sepsis causing bacterial infections.”

“By approving NTAP for the T2Bacteria Panel, CMS has confirmed that the T2Bacteria Panel represents a substantial clinical improvement over existing technologies,” said John McDonough, chairman and chief executive officer at T2 Biosystems. “The introduction of the T2Bacteria Panel has altered the course of clinical treatment in a number of ways, and this new designation will ensure increased access to this groundbreaking, direct-from-blood rapid diagnostic for patients suspected of a bloodstream infection or sepsis.”

With this designation, hospitals in the United States treating Medicare inpatients with sepsis will now be eligible for a NTAP, in addition to the standard payment amount. In the final rule, CMS determined a maximum NTAP amount of $97.50 for the T2Bacteria Panel in addition to the diagnosis-related group (MS-DRG)-based reimbursement that hospitals receive under the Medicare Hospital Inpatient Prospective Payment System (IPPS). Hospitals will be eligible for the NTAP for any in-patient T2Bacteria Panel tests performed on Medicare patients beginning October 1, 2019. The maximum NTAP reimbursement for a qualifying case involving the use of the T2Bacteria Panel is $97.50, (65 percent of the list price of one T2Bacteria Panel test) in addition to standard hospital payment under the appropriate sepsis MS-DRG codes. There are more than 30 million Medicare patients in the United States enrolled in Medicare fee-for-service.

The T2Bacteria Panel is one of several panels that are approved or in development that are run on the Company’s T2Dx® Instrument, which is powered by miniaturized magnetic resonance (T2MR®) technology.

About T2 Biosystems
T2 Biosystems, a leader in the development and commercialization of innovative medical diagnostic products for critical unmet needs in healthcare, is dedicated to improving patient care and reducing the cost of care by helping clinicians effectively treat patients faster than ever before. T2 Biosystems’ products include the T2Dx® Instrument, T2Candida® Panel, and T2Bacteria® Panel and are powered by the proprietary T2 Magnetic Resonance (T2MR®) technology. T2 Biosystems has an active pipeline of future products, including products for the detection of additional species and antibiotic resistance markers of sepsis pathogens, and tests for Lyme disease.

Forward-Looking Statements
This press release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. All statements contained in this press release that do not relate to matters of historical fact should be considered forward-looking statements, including, without limitation, statements regarding additional patients, timing of testing patients, anticipated product benefits, strategic priorities, product expansion or opportunities, growth expectations or targets, timing of FDA filings or clearances and anticipated operating expenses, as well as statements that include the words “expect,” “intend,” “plan”, “believe”, “project”, “forecast”, “estimate,” “may,” “should,” “anticipate,” and similar statements of a future or forward looking nature. These forward-looking statements are based on management's current expectations. These statements are neither promises nor guarantees, but involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other important factors that may cause actual results, performance or achievements to be materially different from any future results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by the forward-looking statements, including, but not limited to, (i) any inability to (a) realize anticipated benefits from commitments, contracts or products; (b) successfully execute strategic priorities; (c) bring products to market; (d) expand product usage or adoption; (e) obtain customer testimonials;  (f) accurately predict growth assumptions; (g) realize anticipated revenues; (h) incur expected levels of operating expenses; or (i) increase the number of high-risk patients at customer facilities; (ii) failure of early data to predict eventual outcomes;  (iii) failure to make or obtain anticipated FDA filings or clearances within expected time frames or at all; or (iv) the factors discussed under Item 1A. "Risk Factors" in the company's Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2018, filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, or SEC, on March 14, 2019, and other filings the company makes with the SEC from time to time.  These and other important factors could cause actual results to differ materially from those indicated by the forward-looking statements made in this press release. Any such forward-looking statements represent management's estimates as of the date of this press release. While the company may elect to update such forward-looking statements at some point in the future, unless required by law, it disclaims any obligation to do so, even if subsequent events cause its views to change. Thus, no one should assume that the Company’s silence over time means that actual events are bearing out as expressed or implied in such forward-looking statements.  These forward-looking statements should not be relied upon as representing the company's views as of any date subsequent to the date of this press release.

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Investor Contact:
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