SAN DIEGO--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Biocept, Inc. (NASDAQ: BIOC), a molecular diagnostics company commercializing and developing liquid biopsies to improve the detection and treatment of cancer, today announced the launch of its FGFR1 amplification testing utilizing a patient's blood sample. This diagnostic assay has the potential to help physicians identify patients who may be receptive to certain breast and lung cancer treatments.
Studies have demonstrated FGFR1 amplification as a driver for uncontrolled cell growth. Hence treatments targeting this pathway are being evaluated in a number of clinical trials currently underway.
“FGFR1 alterations have been identified in a number of cancers,” said Veena Singh, M.D., SVP and Senior Medical Director of Biocept. “The presence of this biomarker has historically been found in non-small cell lung cancer as well as breast cancer. However, at this year’s American Association for Cancer Research (AACR) meeting, researchers presented findings demonstrating that this target is also present in small cell lung cancer.”
Small cell lung cancer accounts for 10 to 15 percent of all lung cancers and has a five-year survival rate, which is less than half that of non-small cell lung cancer. Because small cell lung cancer shows symptoms much later than non-small cell lung cancer, it is typically diagnosed much later in the course of the disease after it has metastasized to other parts of the body.
“The launch of FGFR1 testing is part of our strategy to use liquid biopsy to transform the field of personalized medicine,” said Raaj Trivedi, Biocept’s VP of Commercial Operations. “At Biocept, we help physicians monitor resistance mechanisms and identify new targets for therapy even when tumor material from a tissue biopsy is insufficient to provide results. Our ability to use a simple blood sample to identify this biomarker in the setting of metastatic cancer gives clinicians and pharmaceutical partners additional therapeutic options targeting this pathway.”
About Biocept
Biocept, Inc. is a commercial-stage molecular diagnostics company that utilizes a proprietary technology platform and a standard blood sample to provide physicians with important prognostic and predictive information to enhance individual treatment of patients with cancer. Biocept’s technology platform captures and analyzes circulating tumor DNA, both in circulating tumor cells (CTCs) and in plasma (ctDNA). Biocept currently offers OncoCEE-GA™ for gastric cancer, OncoCEE-BR™ for breast cancer and OncoCEE-LU™ for non-small cell lung cancer, and plans to introduce CLIA-validated tests for colorectal, prostate and other solid tumors in the near term.
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