VWR, Part of Avantor, and Biocept Announce the Launch of CEE-Sure Blood Collection Tubes for cfDNA and CTCs

SAN DIEGO, June 11, 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 commercial launch of Biocept's CEE-Sure® blood collection tubes (BCTs) for research use only, which are now internationally distributed exclusively through VWR.  VWR, acquired by Avantor in 2017 as a wholly owned subsidiary, is a leading global provider of product and service solutions to laboratory and production customers.

CEE-Sure® BCTs allow for the intact transport of liquid biopsy samples at room temperature from the clinic to central laboratories conducting molecular and cellular analyses. A unique feature is the ability to preserve both CTCs and cfDNA collected from the patient in the same tube. The CEE-Sure® technology has a unique patented media that inhibits cell clumping, thus preventing clogging of microfluidics devices, which is a common problem with CTC analysis. It also can preserve high-quality circulating cfDNA for advanced molecular testing applications like non-invasive prenatal testing and detection of gene mutations in cancer. Specimen types that can be transported include blood, cerebrospinal fluid, sputum, and fluid obtained from pleural effusion. Use of the CEE-Sure® BCTs does not require pre-shipment specimen processing, refrigeration during shipping, or centrifugation upon receipt, which can be barriers to the adoption of liquid biopsy. Study data demonstrating the ability to successfully collect and preserve patient blood samples for use with single gene tests and a broad liquid biopsy panel were presented in a poster at the 2017 American Association for Cancer Research (AACR) Annual Meeting.    

"The CEE-Sure® collection tubes provide a proven and convenient option for transporting specimens containing important genomic and whole-cell information that is essential for both research and clinical use," said Bjorn Hofman, COO for Avantor. "The demand for liquid biopsy analysis is growing, and we are pleased to offer CEE-Sure® collection tubes as a solution to facilitate the needs of our customers."

"We are excited that VWR is now offering our proprietary blood collection tubes commercially and that we have an opportunity to brand Biocept globally as a leading technology provider in the liquid biopsy segment," stated Michael Nall, Biocept's President and CEO. "We are proud to have developed this technology internally, and believe that the ability to preserve and ship CTCs and ctDNA anywhere in the world without refrigeration or special handling will enable more patients to benefit from the use of liquid biopsy."  

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 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 growing demand of liquid biopsy, and our ability to increase patient demand for liquid biopsy, 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.