SAN DIEGO, Aug. 17, 2017 /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 cancer patients,
announces it has entered into a clinical study agreement
with the University of Texas Southwestern
Medical Center (UT Southwestern Medical Center). Led by
recognized oncologist and ALK mutation researcher Dr.
Saad Khan, the study is designed to
evaluate the clinical utility of Biocept's Target Selector™
platform for patients diagnosed with ALK-positive non-small
cell lung cancer and treated with ALK-inhibitor therapy. A
second arm of the study will evaluate patients with rare cancers
such as anaplastic thyroid cancer to determine if driver mutations
such as ALK rearrangements can be identified and treated
with targeted therapy to improve patient outcomes.
"Identifying ALK rearrangements in patients with lung
cancer has become important as new targeted therapies are available
to help manage disease in patients harboring this type of
alteration," said Saad Khan, MD,
Medical Oncologist and Assistant Professor of Internal Medicine at
UT Southwestern Medical Center. "We have designed this study to
demonstrate the ability to rapidly identify ALK
rearrangements, and to provide further evidence that patients with
both non-small cell lung cancer and rare cancers harboring
ALK alterations can benefit from targeted therapy and serial
monitoring of ALK and other key alterations."
"Demonstrating the clinical utility of our Target Selector™
platform in studies conducted by top researchers like Dr. Khan is
important to expand the clinical adoption of our liquid biopsy
offering in oncology," said Biocept's President and Chief Executive
Officer Michael Nall. "We continue
to evaluate our Target Selector™ platform in clinical studies in
which the identification of ALK fusions and other
alterations with our assays can help guide treatment decisions
resulting in improved patient outcomes. Our Target Selector™ tests
can be used to help physicians rapidly obtain the actionable
information they need to design personalized treatment plans for
their cancer patients."
About ALK Rearrangements in Lung Cancer
The
ALK gene encodes the anaplastic lymphoma kinase (ALK)
protein, which belongs to a family of receptor tyrosine kinases
involved in transmitting cell surface signals to the inside of the
cell. In approximately 5% of non-small cell lung cancer patients, a
portion of the ALK gene is abnormally rearranged when DNA is
replicated during cell division. Fusion of ALK DNA sequences
to another gene results in the disruption of normal ALK protein
function, causing uncontrolled cell growth as is characteristic in
cancer. Various ALK gene arrangements, or translocations,
have been observed in NSCLC; the majority of variants involve gene
fusions between the ALK and EML4 genes. Biocept's
Target Selector™ platform is able to identify ALK
translocations in circulating tumor cells (CTCs) using fluorescence
in situ hybridization (FISH) probes that are also commonly used for
molecular profiling in tissue. Non-small cell lung cancer patients
who test positive for an ALK fusion are likely to respond to
ALK inhibitor therapy such as Xalkori® (crizotinib).
Biocept's liquid biopsy testing may be used to identify ALK
translocations to guide treatment decisions and selection of an
appropriate targeted therapy.
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
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
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 success of the UT
Southwestern Medical Center study and its ability to meet its
objectives, our ability to further validate our liquid biopsy
technology, and our ability to increase the clinical adoption of
our testing services, 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
View original content with
multimedia:http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/biocept-and-ut-southwestern-medical-center-announce-clinical-study-to-profile-and-monitor-non-small-cell-lung-cancer-patients-with-alk-rearrangements-300505823.html
SOURCE Biocept, Inc.