Biocept Expands Patent Protection in Europe

European patent covers the use of antibodies in the capture and detection of rare cells from biological fluids used in the company's liquid biopsy, or blood-based, molecular diagnostic assays

SAN DIEGO, Nov. 11, 2015  -- Biocept, Inc. (BIOC), a molecular diagnostics company commercializing and developing liquid biopsies to improve the diagnosis and treatment of cancer, announces that the European Patent Office has awarded the patent, "DEVICES AND METHODS OF CELL CAPTURE AND ANALYSIS," as announced in the European Bulletin dated November 11, 2015. The patent covers the use of antibodies in the capture of rare cells, such as circulating tumor cells (CTCs), from blood as well as other biological fluids using the company's patented microchannel capture device. 

Biocept's antibody capture cocktail along with the microchannel are key components of the company's Cell Enrichment and Extraction (CEE™) platform, providing for the high-efficiency capture, visualization and microscopic analysis of targeted cancer cells obtained from a patient blood sample and used by physicians for medical decision-making.

Lyle Arnold, Ph.D., Chief Scientific Officer at Biocept, said, "The issuance of this patent further expands our international patent portfolio to include the use of antibodies in the capture of cancer cells in combination with our microchannel for which multiple U.S. and international patents have been granted. Our antibody cocktail is a key part of our patented, proprietary method to capture and analyze cells from a wide variety of tumor types. In addition, this patent expands our IP protection for the use of a simple blood sample and other biological sample types in obtaining valuable biomarker information that can be used by physicians to personalize the treatment of patients with cancer." 

"We have been aggressively broadening IP protection for our unique methods of capturing and analyzing cancer cells in blood and other biological fluids," said Biocept's President and Chief Executive Officer Michael Nall. "Our expanding patent portfolio better positions Biocept to capitalize on the growing movement toward the use of liquid biopsy, which we believe can reduce healthcare costs and improve outcomes by identifying patients who can qualify for targeted treatments that physicians can utilize to treat their cancer."

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 patented technology platform captures and analyzes circulating tumor DNA, both in CTCs and in plasma (ctDNA). Biocept currently offers assays for gastric cancer, breast cancer, lung cancer, colorectal cancer and melanoma, and plans to introduce CLIA-validated assays for prostate cancer and other solid tumors in the near term. 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 the ability of physicians to use our liquid biopsy technology to personalize treatment for individual patients with cancer, our ability to expand the clinical utility and adoption of our liquid biopsy assays, improvement of patient outcomes and our impact on diagnostic strategies and healthcare costs, and our ability to expand  into new cancer indications and grow our portfolio of biomarker assays, 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.