Data Demonstrating Extremely High Sensitivity of Biocept's Blood-Based Liquid Biopsy in Detecting Lung Cancer Mutations Presented at UCSD Moores Cancer Center Translational Oncology Symposium

SAN DIEGO, Feb. 26, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- Biocept, Inc. (NASDAQ: BIOC), a leading molecular diagnostics company commercializing and developing biomarkers used in liquid biopsies to improve the detection and treatment of cancer, announces that findings demonstrating the ability to reliably detect actionable genetic alterations used in the diagnosis, monitoring and treatment of patients with lung cancer using its blood-based biopsy was presented in a poster at the UCSD Moores Cancer Center Industry/Academia Translational Oncology Symposium held this week in San Diego. The poster, titled "High Sensitivity Detection of Rare EGFR Mutations with ctDNA Using Target-Selector Assays," included data showing a high degree of concordance of Biocept's assay with results from invasive tissue biopsy.

"The results of this study further demonstrate the ability of Biocept's liquid biopsy platforms to detect the presence of key cancer-associated biomarkers, which can be used in aiding medical decision-making," said Biocept's Senior Vice President and Senior Medical Director Veena Singh, M.D. "In this study we compared the results from our Target-Selector™ using blood samples against tissue samples from 74 patients with lung cancer and found concordance of greater than 93%.  This high rate of concordance in conjunction with the high level of sensitivity in detecting acquired resistance mechanisms in lung cancer patients underscores the value of using our liquid biopsy platforms."

"The ability of the Target-Selector™ assay to detect rare genetic events from blood has great utility when applied to patients with lung cancer, where it is often challenging to obtain a tissue sample," said Biocept's Senior Vice President and Chief Scientific Officer Lyle Arnold, Ph.D.  "It is rewarding to see these assays clinically validated and being utilized by physicians as an adjunct to solid tumor biopsies in patients with cancer."

Biocept has a number of ongoing validation and clinical studies which are intended to demonstrate the performance and clinical utility of its liquid biopsy platform.  These studies focus on the detection of key predictive biomarkers in blood, as well as monitoring the concentrations of these biomarkers throughout therapy. 

Determining the presence of circulating tumor DNA (ctDNA) in blood, which is indicative of the presence of solid tumors, is the goal of assays known as "liquid biopsies."  The use of a liquid biopsy is proving useful for monitoring a patient's tumor burden and for guiding the personalized treatment of patients with cancer based on the presence of biomarkers associated with solid tumors.  Historically, solid tumor tissue obtained from surgical biopsies has been used routinely to detect the presence of key genomic biomarkers that can aid in the detection of cancer and in treatment decision-making.  The ability to detect these same biomarkers based on material shed from the tumor into the blood provides an alternative for physicians where a solid tumor biopsy is difficult or impractical to obtain, or poses a high risk to the patient.

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, prostate cancer and melanoma, and plans to introduce CLIA-validated assays for other solid tumors in the near term. For additional information, please visit www.biocept.com.

Forward-Looking Statements

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 improve the detection and treatment of cancer, our ability to demonstrate the performance and clinical utility of our liquid biopsy platform, our plans to introduce CLIA-validated assays in the near term and the use of liquid biopsy generally, 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.

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