SAN DIEGO, April 20, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Biocept, Inc.
(NASDAQ: BIOC), a leading commercial provider of liquid biopsy
tests designed to provide physicians with clinically actionable
information to improve the outcomes of patients diagnosed with
cancer, announces the availability of research-use-only (RUO) kits
that can allow molecular laboratories around the world to utilize
Biocept's Target Selector™ molecular assay kits to detect key
oncogene mutations through the analysis of both Formalin-Fixed
Paraffin-Embedded (FFPE) tissue gained from surgical biopsies as
well as circulating tumor DNA (ctDNA) gained from blood-based
liquid biopsies.
Biocept's Target Selector™ platform is patent protected in
the United States, in seven
countries in Europe and in five
additional international territories. The first available
kits validated for both tissue and blood are for detection of EGFR
mutations, which are among the most frequently evaluated biomarkers
for lung cancer. Additional RUO test kits for other oncogene
mutations are planned for launch in the future.
Biocept's Target Selector™ ctDNA platform utilizes patented
Switch-Blocker technology to enrich the specimen for mutations of
interest, resulting in ultra-high assay sensitivity and specificity
compared to methods currently used in most
laboratories.
"The launch of FFPE capabilities represents a major opportunity
for our Target Selector™ kits, given the significant market for
tissue testing for mutations in solid tumors and the rapid growth
in the liquid biopsy segment," said Michael
Nall, President and CEO of Biocept. "Our new dual
sample kit offers researchers and assay developers efficiencies and
cost savings, including the ability to validate one assay platform
for both tissue and blood, and the ability to eliminate the need
for macro-dissection for FFPE samples. In addition, with FFPE
samples, QNS (quantity not sufficient) can prevent labs from
obtaining biomarker results. Based on the assay's ability to
work with extremely low tumor input and small tissue samples,
Target Selector™ may provide a result when other FFPE assays are
unable to do so."
About Target Selector™ ctDNA Kits
Target Selector™
molecular assay kits are marketed for research use only and utilize
Biocept's proprietary and patented Switch-Blocker technology to
enable industry-leading sensitivity for the detection of
mutations/variants of interest in ctDNA (one mutant copy in 10,000
wildtype DNA).
Due to its industry-leading sensitivity and the ability to block
DNA amplification from normal cells, we believe Target Selector™
should allow laboratories to eliminate macro-dissection of tumor
blocks, which can result in major workflow improvements and cost
savings in the pathology laboratory. Target Selector™ assays
can also provide results with small DNA inputs (minimum 4.6 ng),
compared to most tissue-based assays, thus allowing the laboratory
to get results even with small amounts of tissue.
The Target Selector™ assays can be used in combination with a
variety of low-cost analytical platforms including qPCR,
Sanger sequencing, microarrays,
and mass-spectrometry, in addition to next generation sequencing.
Target Selector™ kits offer high content per assay, which can
reduce costs by selectively amplifying multiple mutations/variants
in hot-spot regions of interest in a single reaction. All
Target Selector™ assays are quantitative.
For more information on Biocept's Target Selector™ liquid biopsy
kits, or to order Assay Kits, please contact Biocept Customer
Service at (888) 332-7729 or go to customerservice@biocept.com.
About Biocept
Biocept, Inc. is a molecular diagnostics
company with commercialized assays for lung, breast, gastric,
colorectal and prostate cancers, and melanoma. The Company uses its
proprietary liquid biopsy technology to provide physicians with
clinically actionable information for treating and monitoring
patients diagnosed with cancer. The Company's patented Target
Selector™ liquid biopsy technology platform captures and analyzes
tumor-associated molecular markers in both circulating tumor cells
(CTCs) and in circulating tumor DNA (ctDNA). With thousands of
tests performed, the platform has demonstrated the ability to
identify cancer mutations and alterations to inform physicians
about a patient's disease and therapeutic options. For additional
information, please visit www.biocept.com.
Forward-Looking Statements Disclaimer Statement
This
release contains forward-looking statements that are based upon
current expectations or beliefs, as well as a number of assumptions
about future events. Although we believe that the expectations
reflected in the forward-looking statements and the assumptions
upon which they are based are reasonable, we can give no assurance
that such expectations and assumptions will prove to have been
correct. Forward-looking statements are generally identifiable by
the use of words like "may," "will," "should," "could," "expect,"
"anticipate," "estimate," "believe," "intend," or "project" or the
negative of these words or other variations on these words or
comparable terminology. To the extent that statements in this
release are not strictly historical, including without limitation
statements as to our ability to improve the outcomes of patients
diagnosed with cancer, our ability to launch additional RUO test
kits for other oncogene mutations in the future, the market
opportunity for our Target Selector™ kits, the ability of our
Target Selector™ kits to offer research laboratories a number of
efficiencies and cost savings, the ability of our Target Selector™
kits to provide a result when other FFPE assays may be unable to do
so, and our ability to provide physicians with clinically
actionable information for treating and monitoring patients
diagnosed with cancer, such statements are forward-looking, and are
made pursuant to the safe harbor provisions of the Private
Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. The reader is cautioned
not to put undue reliance on these forward-looking statements, as
these statements are subject to numerous risk factors as set forth
in our Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) filings. The
effects of such risks and uncertainties could cause actual results
to differ materially from the forward-looking statements contained
in this release. We do not plan to update any such forward-looking
statements and expressly disclaim any duty to update the
information contained in this press release except as required by
law. Readers are advised to review our filings with the SEC, which
can be accessed over the Internet at the SEC's website located at
www.sec.gov.
Investor Contact:
LHA Investor
Relations
Jody Cain
Jcain@lhai.com
310-691-7100
Media Contact:
CORE IR
Jules Abraham
julesa@coreir.com
917-885-7378
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SOURCE Biocept, Inc.