bioTheranostics, Inc., a leader in molecular diagnostics for cancer, announced a collaboration agreement with DeNovo Sciences, Inc., an innovator in the emerging liquid biopsy field, to investigate the technical feasibility of utilizing bioTheranostics’ proprietary biomarkers in the development of blood-based diagnostics.

These proof-of-concept studies will leverage proprietary platforms to enable molecular characterization with bioTheranostics’ biomarkers using circulating tumor cells (CTCs) enriched and captured with DeNovo’s microfluidic platform to determine potential opportunities for further development in liquid biopsy.

Solid-tumor biopsy is the most common specimen used in cancer diagnosis, but often there is a lack of tissue biopsy material required to run the multiple tests needed at the time of diagnosis and throughout treatment. Liquid biopsy using a simple blood sample may provide an alternative when tissue biopsy material is unavailable or difficult to obtain, and may allow physicians to monitor changes in the tumor genome over time. Liquid biopsy-based tests could have important applications in early cancer detection, as companion diagnostics, and in disease monitoring.

”We are excited to work with DeNovo Sciences, which is at the forefront in technologies for liquid biopsy, to bring bioTheranostics’ proprietary science into blood-based diagnostics for cancer,” said Catherine Schnabel, PhD, chief scientific officer of bioTheranostics. “DeNovo Sciences has developed a differentiated platform that will allow us to recover CTCs for molecular characterization utilizing bioTheranostics’ high resolution cancer biomarkers. Our ongoing goal is the continued advancement of the molecular diagnostics field with new developments that address clinical unmet needs in oncologic testing.”

“We are pleased to provide our Jetta CTC system to bioTheranostics, a leader in molecular diagnostics for cancer,” said Yixin Wang, PhD, chief scientific officer of DeNovo Sciences. “We hope that the combination of our innovative liquid biopsy technology with bioTheranostics cutting-edge discoveries in gene expression profiling will continue to advance personalized cancer care and improve patient outcomes.”