SAN DIEGO, Jan. 4, 2018 /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 issuance of Australian Patent No. 2012250516,
entitled METHODS FOR DETECTING NUCLEIC ACID SEQUENCE VARIANTS. This
is the second issued patent for Biocept's Target Selector™ assays
for molecular analysis using real-time PCR, Sanger sequencing and next generation
sequencing (NGS). Consistent with Biocept's recently issued U.S.
patent, the Australian patent encompasses Biocept's proprietary
"switch-blocker" technology, which enriches patient specimens for
oncogene mutations of interest, resulting in ultra-high sensitivity
and specificity for the detection of cancer-associated mutations
found in blood, tissue, and other biological sources.
"The issuance of this patent further supports the unique and
proprietary technology that differentiates our highly sensitive
ctDNA platform technology," said Lyle
Arnold, Ph.D., Biocept's Chief Scientific Officer. "With the
patents and technology for our CTC capture and analysis as well as
our blood transport tubes, we believe that Biocept's intellectual
property position in the liquid biopsy segment is robust."
Michael Nall, Biocept's President
and CEO, added, "Obtaining this new patent provides additional
intellectual property protection for the unique and novel features
of our Target Selector™ ctDNA platform and expands the opportunity
to generate sales in territories outside the U.S. We are pleased to
receive the second patent for our highly sensitive and specific
molecular technology."
About ctDNA Target Selector™ Technology
The "switch-blocker" technology covered by this patent, as well
as the earlier issued U.S. Patent No. 9,834,817 is applicable to a
broad range of molecular genomic platforms, including real-time
PCR, digital PCR, Sanger
sequencing, NGS, arrays, mass-spec, and capillary detection
systems. This technology allows normal (wild-type) nucleic
acid material (such as normal DNA) to be significantly blocked from
amplification, while genetic alterations associated with cancer are
able to be amplified. This method greatly increases the detection
sensitivity of genetic alterations such as cancer mutations in low
abundance, as the "noise" associated with normal genetic sequences
is largely eliminated.
Biocept's switch-blocker technology also has the advantage of
reducing the cost of running assays, like NGS assays, by
approximately 100-1,000-fold, since the expense of sequencing large
amounts of uninformative wild-type nucleic acid is eliminated.
In clinical validation studies, Biocept has demonstrated, with a
high degree of correlation, the ability to detect the same
biomarkers in blood that were identified from tissue biopsy of
solid tumors. Using a blood specimen to provide information on
biomarkers found on solid tumors offers the benefits of providing
information on tumor markers when tissue biopsy is not an option,
reducing the risks and costs of biopsy relative to tissue, has
convenience advantages, and can enable the ability to
non-invasively conduct serial monitoring of patient specimens over
time.
About Biocept
Biocept, Inc. is a molecular diagnostics
company with commercialized assays for lung, breast, gastric,
colorectal and prostate cancers, and melanoma. The Company
leverages its proprietary liquid biopsy technology to provide
physicians with clinically actionable information for treating and
monitoring patients diagnosed with cancer. Biocept's patented
Target Selector™ liquid biopsy technology platforms capture and
analyze tumor-associated molecular markers on 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
news 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
be 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 news release are not strictly historical,
including, without limitation, statements as to our ability to
improve the outcomes of cancer patients, the utility and
effectiveness of our intellectual property protections, our ability
to obtain additional patents in the future covering our proprietary
liquid biopsy technology, our ability to generate sales in
territories outside the U.S., and the perceived benefits of our
proprietary liquid biopsy technology, 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 news 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 at
www.sec.gov
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SOURCE Biocept, Inc.