SAN DIEGO, May 20, 2019 /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 commercial launch of Target Selector™ NGS Lung Panel, the Company's multi-gene liquid biopsy panel specifically developed for lung cancer. This product runs on Thermo Fisher Scientific's Ion Torrent™ next generation sequencing (NGS) platform. The Target Selector™ NGS Lung Panel will be marketed to physicians and researchers, and can be used to detect and monitor actionable biomarkers associated with lung cancer. The panel combines Biocept's laboratory and commercial infrastructure, as well as the Company's expertise in blood sample preservation and DNA/RNA isolation with Thermo Fisher's industry leading next generation sequencing panel and informatics technology, branded as Oncomine™. This offering will also further enrich the content supporting Biocept's collaboration with artificial intelligence solutions provider Prognos Health, Inc.

Lung cancer is the leading cause of cancer death for both men and women in the United States, with an estimated 155,870 deaths in 2017.1 The median overall survival for patients with advanced non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) is approximately one year, with the five-year survival rate for metastatic lung cancer at 5%.2 However, 17–27% of NSCLC patients harbor molecular alterations that can be treated with specific FDA-approved targeted therapies. In order to realize the full potential of these targeted therapies, oncologists require timely and accurate molecular characterization of a patient's cancer for selection of the best possible therapy, with some treatment regimens extending median patient survival times from one to two and one-half years.3-7 Despite these advances, a large percentage of patients may not undergo molecular profiling due to a number of practical constraints. Chief among these is the availability of tissue for molecular testing. Lung cancers are often difficult to biopsy because of their location within what is often diseased lung tissue of elderly patients. Biocept believes that the clinical utility of liquid biopsy, which involves the use of a simple blood sample to obtain this molecular information, can provide an effective solution to help oncologists with the selection of targeted therapies.

"We are very pleased to launch our first multi-gene liquid biopsy panel to physicians and researchers in both academic centers and the pharmaceutical industry," said Michael Nall, Biocept's President and Chief Executive Officer. "This new solution makes Biocept the only commercial liquid biopsy company that can offer customers the flexibility to order either a customized single biomarker assay or a larger NGS-based liquid biopsy test panel for use when more comprehensive testing is desired. This new offering complements our existing Target Selector™ testing platform, which focuses on delivering actionable and cost-effective biomarker information to address needs of physicians, healthcare systems and payors as they develop personalized treatment protocols for patients diagnosed with cancer."

About Biocept's Target Selector™ NGS Lung Panel

Biocept's multi-gene tumor-specific NGS-based liquid biopsy panels allow physicians and researchers to use a simple blood sample to analyze actionable biomarkers associated with specific solid tumor types. The biomarkers included in the Target Selector™ NGS Lung Panel are those that physicians frequently rely upon when making treatment decisions for their patients diagnosed with cancer and includes reporting powered by the Oncomine™ Knowledge Reporter. For more information about the Target Selector™ NGS Lung Panel, please contact Biocept Customer Services at 888-332-7729.

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 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 CTCs and in plasma (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, the potential clinical utility of our proprietary technology platform and the commercial success of our Target Selector™ NGS Lung Panel, 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.

References:

[1] Siegel RL, Miller KD, Jemal A. Cancer statistics, 2017. CA Cancer J Clin. 2017 Jan;67(1):7-30. [2] Kim TE, Murren JR. Therapy for stage IIIB and stage IV non-small cell lung cancer. Clin Chest Med. 2002 Mar; 23(1):209-224. [3] Sequist LV, et al. Phase III study of afatinib or cisplatin plus pemetrexed in patients with metastatic lung adenocarcinoma with EGFR mutations. J Clin Oncol. 2013 Sep 20; 31(27):3327-3334. [4] Fukuoka M, et al. Biomarker analyses and final overall survival results from a phase III, randomized, open-label, first-line study of gefitinib versus carboplatin/paclitaxel in clinically selected patients with advanced non-small-cell lung cancer in Asia (IPASS). J Clin Oncol. 2011 Jul 20; 29(21):2866-2874. [5] Rosell R, et al. Erlotinib versus standard chemotherapy as first-line treatment for European patients with advanced EGFR mutation-positive non-small-cell lung cancer (EURTAC): a multicentre, open-label, randomised phase 3 trial. Lancet Oncol. 2012 Mar; 13(3):239-246. [6] Maemondo M, et al. Gefitinib or chemotherapy for non-small-cell lung cancer with mutated EGFR. N Engl J Med. 2010 Jun 24; 362(25):2380-2388. [7] Chih-Hsin Yang J et al Afatinib versus cisplatin based chemotherapy for EGFR mutation positive lung adenocarcinoma (LUX-Lung 3 and LUX-Lung 6): analysis of overall survival from two randomized phase 3 trials Lancet Oncology 2015;16 141-151

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