Biocept Announces Issuance of South Korean Patent Covering its Target Selector™ Oncogene Mutation Enrichment and Detection Platform

SAN DIEGO, Oct. 3, 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 that it has been awarded South Korean Patent No. 2010601, entitled METHODS FOR DETECTING NUCLEIC ACID SEQUENCE VARIANTS. The patent provides intellectual property protection for the Company's Switch-Blocker technology, which is core to Biocept's Target Selector™ assays for molecular analysis using real-time PCR, Sanger sequencing and next-generation sequencing (NGS).

"The issuance of this patent further expands Biocept's intellectual property protection in Southeast Asia for rare mutation detection and adds to the portfolio of similar patents issued in the U.S., China, Australia, Japan, and Europe," said Lyle Arnold, Ph.D., Biocept's Chief Scientific Officer. "The Switch-Blocker technology makes possible the ultra-sensitive detection of rare genetic events and is especially useful for detecting rare cancer associated mutations and alterations for use in Biocept's liquid biopsy assays. This technology works seamlessly with Biocept's other patented and proprietary technologies for blood collection, and CTC capture and analysis."

"Expanding U.S. and international patent protection for our Target Selector™ liquid biopsy platform is an important strategic focus as we seek to expand our global business through the sale of assays performed at Biocept and through Research Use Only (RUO) kits sold for use in a client's own laboratory," said Michael Nall, Biocept's President and CEO. "With this newly granted patent, we now have 37 issued patents covering our tests and technologies and we plan to continue to invest in our intellectual property position by pursuing additional patent issuances in the future." 

About Biocept's Target Selector™ Mutation Enrichment and Detection Technology

Biocept's "Switch-Blocker" technology allows normal (wild-type) nucleic acid material, such as normal DNA, to be significantly blocked from amplification, while allowing genetic alterations associated with cancer and other diseases to be amplified. This method increases the detection sensitivity of genetic alterations such as cancer mutations in low abundance, as the "noise" associated with normal genetic sequences is significantly reduced. The Switch-Blocker technology may also reduce the cost of running assays, such as NGS assays, because the expense of sequencing large amounts of uninformative wild-type nucleic acid is eliminated. In clinical validation studies, Biocept has demonstrated, with a high degree of correlation, the ability to detect the same biomarkers in blood that were identified from tissue biopsy from the same patients. Using a blood specimen to provide information on biomarkers found on solid tumors offers the benefits of reducing the risks and costs of biopsy relative to tissue, has convenience advantages, and can enable the ability to non-invasively conduct serial monitoring of patient specimens over time.

The Switch-Blocker technology covered by South Korean Patent No. 2010601 further expands on U.S. Patent No. 9,834,817, European Patent No. 2,705,162, Chinese Patent No. ZL201280032293.0, Japanese Patent No. 6404118, and Australian Patent No. 2012250516, which are applicable to a broad range of molecular genomic platforms, including real-time PCR, digital PCR, Sanger sequencing, NGS, arrays, mass-spec, and capillary detection systems.

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 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 expand our business globally and expand the adoption of our tests, and the ability of our tests to provide clinically actionable information to oncologist and their patients, 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.

Contact:
LHA Investor Relations
Jody Cain
Jcain@lhai.com
310-691-7100

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SOURCE Biocept, Inc.