Biocept Appoints Samuel D. Riccitelli as Interim President and Chief Executive Officer and Antonino Morales as Interim Chief Financial Officer

SAN DIEGO--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Feb. 16, 2022-- Biocept, Inc. (Nasdaq: BIOC), a leading provider of molecular diagnostic assays, products and services, announces the appointments of Samuel D. Riccitelli as Interim President and Chief Executive Officer, succeeding Michael W. Nall, and Antonino Morales as Interim Chief Financial Officer, succeeding Timothy C. Kennedy. Biocept also named M. Faye Wilson as Lead Independent Director of the company’s Board of Directors. Mr. Riccitelli remains Chair of the Board.

“I am grateful and excited to see Sam and Antonino stepping into their interim roles at a time when Biocept is fulfilling such an important mission for our current COVID-19 testing clients and I am even more excited about what their leadership will mean to malignant tumor patients as we pursue the clinical validation of the CNSide™ assay in identifying metastatic cancer originating from all solid tumors,” said M. Faye Wilson, Lead Independent Director of Biocept.

Mr. Riccitelli has served as a member of Biocept’s Board since October 2020 and as Chair of the Board since June 2021. Mr. Riccitelli has been in the healthcare industry for more than 35 years. He has served as a member of the Board of Directors of Orthopediatrics, Inc. since 2017, a company focused exclusively on the orthopedic implant needs of children. He recently served as Chief Executive Officer of Pathnostics, LLC, a molecular diagnostics company focused on improving antibiotic stewardship, from 2019 to 2020. From 2017 to 2019, Mr. Riccitelli served as Chair of the Board of Directors of Precipio, Inc., a diagnostic services company. From 2012 to 2017, Mr. Riccitelli served as President and Chief Executive Officer and a Director of Signal Genetics, Inc., a publicly traded molecular diagnostic company that was ultimately sold to Miragen Therapeutics, Inc. Mr. Riccitelli was also previously the Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer of Genoptix, Inc., a publicly traded diagnostic company that was sold to Novartis in 2011. Mr. Riccitelli served in a number of research and development and general management leadership positions for Becton, Dickinson and Company and as a vice president, general manager and board member for BD Ventures, LLC., a venture capital fund.

Mr. Morales has served as a member of Biocept’s Board since July 2021 and as a member of Biocept’s Audit Committee from August 2021 until his appointment as Interim Chief Financial Officer. Mr. Morales is a certified public accountant and has more than 30 years of broad leadership experience in the US and Latin America. Mr. Morales served as President and Chief Executive Officer of Apoyo Financiero, Inc. from June 2017 to March 2020. Mr. Morales provides operational, market development, and financial consulting services for early stage companies in the United States as well as Fortune 500 companies in the United States and Latin America. He has served in multiple senior management or consulting roles with various Fortune 100 companies including Citibank, Bank of America, Arthur Andersen, and Mazda North America.

About Biocept

Biocept, Inc. develops and commercializes molecular diagnostic assays that provide physicians with clinically actionable information to aid in the diagnosis, treatment and monitoring of patients with cancer. In addition to its broad portfolio of blood-based liquid biopsy tests, the company has developed the CNSide™ cerebrospinal fluid assay, designed to diagnose cancer that has metastasized to the central nervous system. Biocept also is leveraging its molecular diagnostic capabilities to offer nationwide RT-PCR-based COVID-19 testing and services to support public health efforts during this unprecedented pandemic. For more information, visit www.biocept.com. Follow Biocept on Facebook, LinkedIn and Twitter.

Forward-Looking Statements Disclaimer

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 Biocept believes that the expectations reflected in the forward-looking statements and the assumptions upon which they are based are reasonable, Biocept 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," "could," "expect," or "believe" 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 regarding the effects of the change in Biocept’s leadership, the capabilities and potential benefits of Biocept’s CNSide assay and the ability of Biocept’s assays to provide physicians with clinically actional information, 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 risks and uncertainties, including the risk that Biocept’s products and services may not perform as expected. These and other risks are described in greater detail under the "Risk Factors" heading of Biocept’s Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q/A for the quarter ended September 30, 2021, filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) on February 15, 2022. The effects of such risks and uncertainties could cause Biocept’s actual results to differ materially from the forward-looking statements contained in this release. Biocept does not plan to update any such forward-looking statements and expressly disclaims any duty to update the information contained in this press release except as required by law. Readers are advised to review Biocept’s filings with the SEC, which can be accessed over the Internet at the SEC's website located at www.sec.gov.

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Source: Biocept, Inc.