Biocept changing the way physicians examine blood work for their cancer patients and doing coronavirus testing

Biocept changing the way physicians examine blood work for their cancer patients and doing coronavirus testing

Proactive Investors

Published

Patented liquid biopsy technology called Target Selector detects cancer biomarkers Ramping up global marketing efforts for its blood tests and related products to grow organically Has received to date more than 250,000 coronavirus test samples at its San Diego lab What Biocept does: Biocept Inc (NASDAQ:BIOC) is a molecular diagnostics company focused on changing the way physicians examine blood in their patients with cancer. The San Diego-based company sells CEE-Sure blood collection tubes and has developed a patented liquid biopsy technology called Target Selector that detects and isolates cancer biomarkers such as circulating tumor cells (CTCs) and cell-free circulating tumor DNA (ctDNA). Biocept offers the tests commercially to doctors, hospitals, clinics and researchers, with a focus on lung, breast, gastric, colorectal and prostate cancers - which represent 45% of all metastatic cancers - as well as melanoma. The company says these simple blood tests can obtain the needed molecular information non-invasively and more rapidly than a tissue biopsy. Biocept also has created a companion program called Empower TC that directly involves community pathologists in the interpretation of the liquid biopsy test results. Pathologists are often the first to know when a tissue biopsy is inadequate for molecular profiling, the company says. The company has also developed tumor-specific, multi-gene next-generation sequencing (NGS) panels for both lung and breast cancer that run on Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc's (NYSE:TMO) Ion Torrent NGS platform, which is marketed to physicians, researchers and pharmaceutical companies. Biocept has won nearly 40 patents worldwide stemming from its liquid biopsy technology and commercial-testing platforms. Meanwhile, the company, like hundreds of biotechs around the world, is doing its part to help medical professionals, regulatory officials, and governmental bodies as they combat and attempt to stabilize the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic through testing, therapies, and treatments.  It operates a high-complexity, CLIA-certified, CAP-accredited, and BSL-2 safety level laboratory in San Diego, with specialized, licensed molecular lab staff trained in performing the COVID-19 testing.   How is it doing: Biocept’s decision in April 2020 to launch its technology for COVID-19 testing, albeit a temporary pivot, is paying off. It started offering testing services in June 2020. As of April 2021, the company’s San Diego lab had received to date more than 350,000 samples for processing with its RT-PCR technology. The COVID-19-related business is driving revenues higher and improving the company’s cash flow.  In fact, revenue through the first nine months of 2020 surpassed full-year revenues for all prior years. For its third quarter ended September 30, 2020, Biocept reported revenue of $6.6 million, compared to $1.5 million in 3Q 2019.  To further strengthen its COVID-19 testing business, the company is moving ahead with plans to improve testing as a way to identify new variants of the SARS-CoV-2 virus which causes the disease.  Biocept recently partnered with Aegea Biotechnologies Inc under a supply agreement for a new PCR-based coronavirus assay kit designed by Aegea and co-developed by both companies. Aegea will supply the kit to Biocept for validation in its San Diego lab and the new assay will use Biocept’s patent-protected Switch-Blocker technology for viral RNA detection and discrimination of the L and S coronavirus strain types.  Despite the company’s push into COVID-19, CEO Michael Nall has stressed to shareholders that Biocept plans to grow its core business -- liquid biopsy oncology testing -- in 2021 while it anticipates the pandemic’s eventual but unpredictable decline.  Biocept recently announced plans to collaborate with Protean BioDiagnostics Inc to research the ability of Biocept’s Target Selector liquid biopsy molecular assays to determine the status of EGFR mutations in non-small cell lung cancer patients. Protean also expects to validate the analytical performance of a lab-developed test based on Biocept’s EGFR assay test kit in accordance with the requirements of the College of American Pathologists. Biocept has also entered into laboratory services agreements with independent physician associations (IPAs) providing physicians and patients in-network access to the company's full array of Target Selector assays and services. Both IPAs are headquartered in San Diego and combined, serve more than 70,000 covered lives in the Southern California region. The company is also using Target Selector in the fight against breast cancer. The assay can detect HER2 in breast cancer patients, giving doctors crucial information that’s cheaper and less invasive than a tissue biopsy. The HER2 (human epidermal growth factor receptor 2) protein promotes the growth of cancer cells.  Inflection points: Improve COVID-19 testing to detect virus variants  Increase Target Selector's market penetration Grow sales of CEE-Sure blood collection tubes  Enter into additional strategic commercial and technology partnerships  What the boss says: “I’m proud of our team's ability to process these tests quickly. Even with the increasing volume of COVID-19 samples received by our lab, the vast majority of test results to date have been sent to our health providers within 48 hours. As previously noted, we expect COVID-19 RT-PCR testing will be a significant component of our business until the pandemic subsides,” Biocept CEO Michael Nall has said. Contact the author: patrick@proactiveinvestors.com Follow him on Twitter @PatrickMGraham

Full Article