VANCOUVER, British Columbia, Nov. 30, 2017 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- LexaGene Holdings Inc. (OTCQB:LXXGF) (TSX-V:LXG) (the “Company”), a biotechnology company that develops instrumentation for pathogen detection, has completed the assembly of its prototype for what will be the world’s first fully automated, open-access and on-site pathogen detection platform. The technology will be capable of screening for up to 22 pathogens at once and deliver results in just one hour – as opposed to three to five days, which is typical for standard methods. It is also designed to be used by people with no knowledge of automated instrumentation, microbiology or molecular biology.  

“The completion of our alpha prototype marks a very important milestone for LexaGene, and this instrument is expected to provide fast and accurate pathogen detection that will be useful for many different industries – from food safety to veterinary and human clinical diagnostics,” said Dr. Jack Regan, LexaGene’s CEO and Founder. “Now, we are turning our attention to maximizing the instrument’s performance so that end-users can better manage the care of their patients, and food safety officers can better prevent illnesses from occurring in the first place.”

The market potential for LexaGene’s technology is significant: for example, the food safety market is expected to reach $21.4 billion by 2024, veterinary diagnostics is expected to reach $6.7 billion by 2021, water quality testing is expected to reach $3.5 billion by 2019 and infectious disease testing in human clinical diagnostics is estimated to reach $25.9 billion by 2022.   

Over the next four months, LexaGene will conduct a series of experiments to optimize the alpha’s performance and then re-evaluate its design to determine whether additional improvements can be made for the beta prototype. In contrast to the alpha prototype, which is for in-house testing only, the beta prototype is intended to be as close to a commercial system as possible.

Accordingly, LexaGene will spend a considerable amount of effort on reducing the size and cost of the instrument, taking into consideration ease of manufacturing and service. The Company anticipates sending betas to prospective customers for a free trial period during the summer of 2018 and making only small changes between the beta and commercial system, which is slated for manufacturing and sale by the end of 2018.

“LexaGene’s groundbreaking pathogen detection system is set to completely transform the way that organizations all over the world prevent and diagnose diseases moving forward,” concluded Dr. Regan. “Its high degree of accuracy and ease-of-use will make it a must-have for many  industries across the globe.”

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About LexaGene Holdings Inc.
LexaGene is a biotechnology company developing the very first fully automated pathogen detection platform that is open-access.  The open-access feature will empower end-users to target any pathogen of interest, as they can load their own real-time PCR assays onto the instrument for customized pathogen detection.  End-users simply need to collect a sample, load it onto the instrument with a sample preparation cartridge, and press ‘go’. The instrument is expected to offer excellent sensitivity, specificity, and breadth of pathogen detection.  The instrument will be able to process six samples at a time, in an on-demand fashion, returning results in about 1 hour.  The company expects to sell its technology in the food safety, veterinary diagnostics, water quality monitoring, and aquaculture pathogen surveillance markets.

The TSX Venture Exchange Inc. has in no way passed upon the merits of the proposed transaction and has neither approved nor disapproved the contents of this press release. Neither TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.

This news release contains forward-looking information, which involves known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that may cause actual events to differ materially from current expectation. Important factors -- including the availability of funds, the results of financing efforts, the success of technology development efforts, the cost to procure critical parts, performance of the instrument, market acceptance of the technology, regulatory acceptance, and licensing issues -- that could cause actual results to differ materially from the Company's expectations as disclosed in the Company's documents filed from time to time on SEDAR (see www.sedar.com). Readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements, which speak only as of the date of this press release. The company disclaims any intention or obligation, except to the extent required by law, to update or revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.    

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