TIDMNSCI
RNS Number : 4830X
NetScientific PLC
22 February 2017
NetScientific plc
("NetScientific" or the "Company" or the "Group")
Vortex Biosciences Announces Commercial Launch of Fully
Automated Liquid Biopsy System for
CTC Isolation
London, UK - 22 February 2017 - NetScientific plc (AIM:NSCI),
the transatlantic healthcare IP commercialisation Group, announces
that its portfolio company, Vortex Biosciences, has begun the
commercial launch of the VTX1 Liquid Biopsy System; its fully
automated benchtop system for collecting intact circulating tumour
cells (CTCs) that are shed by tumours, using patented innovative
microfluidic technology.
NetScientific shareholding in Vortex is 95% and as of 31
December 2016, the Group has invested GBP13.1 million. Grant
funding received to develop the underlying technology, prior to
Vortex's formation, was GBP1.6 million.
Commenting on the news, François R. Martelet, Chief Executive
Officer of NetScientific, said: "We are pleased to announce the
commercial launch of Vortex's VTX-1 Liquid Biopsy System into
research labs. We believe the technology has several key advantages
over current approaches to CTC isolation and has the potential to
make a meaningful impact on cancer research and assist the
development of innovative diagnostics and therapeutics. The
commercial launch is a critical milestone for Vortex and brings our
portfolio company closer to significant value creation."
The full text of the announcement is below:
Vortex Biosciences Announces Commercial Launch of Fully
Automated System for
CTC Isolation
VTX-1 Liquid Biopsy System's Innovative Approach Represents the
Next Step in CTC Isolation Systems
MENLO PARK, CA, February 21 - Vortex Biosciences announced the
commercial launch of the VTX-1 Liquid Biopsy System, a fully
automated benchtop system for collecting intact circulating tumor
cells (CTCs) that are shed by tumors, using microfluidic
technology. The VTX-1 is being launched at the Molecular Medicine
Tri Conference (Tri-Con) Annual Meeting 2017 (February 19-24 San
Francisco).
The VTX-1 utilizes microfluidics to automate the isolation of
circulating tumor cells (CTCs) directly from whole blood based on
the greater deformability and larger size of the CTCs. Shed by
tumors into the circulation, CTCs offer a window into cancer
biology. Isolating and characterizing CTCs gives researchers new
insight and the potential to transform our understanding of cancer
and improve the way cancer is diagnosed and treated.
Capturing CTCs out of blood to enable characterization is not
easy. CTCs are relatively scarce, with concentrations as low as
1-10 CTCs/mL of whole blood, against a background of millions of
white blood cells and billions of red blood cells. Vortex's VTX-1
Liquid Biopsy System automates the capture and collection of
clinically relevant, unaltered CTCs directly from whole blood for
analysis. The Vortex VTX-1 system is a fully automated benchtop
system for collecting intact CTCs using microfluidic technology.
Unlabeled CTCs in whole blood are trapped in microscale vortices
while smaller red and white blood cells pass through. After
selective trapping into the microfluidic chambers, CTCs are then
released and collected into a variety of containers for downstream
analysis.
"We believe the VTX-1 has a number of critical advantages in CTC
isolation, including its automated and simple workflow, capacity
for unbiased CTC capture and high CTC recovery and the ease with
which it can be integrated with downstream assays," commented
Vortex CEO Gene Walther. "Empowering cancer researchers with a
rapid, reliable and convenient solution to collect CTCs could
advance cancer research and accelerate the development of
innovative diagnostics and therapeutics."
The VTX-1's innovative approach towards capturing CTCs offers a
number of advantages over existing approaches:
-- Simple-to-use automated workflow. A blood sample collected
from a patient is connected directly to the Vortex cartridge, which
is placed in the instrument. The CTC enrichment process is then
initiated and the scientist returns 1.5 hours later, with no need
to attend to the instrument
-- CTC capture is unbiased. The VTX-1 uses the physical
properties of the CTCs to isolate the cells. Isolated CTCs are thus
representative of the patient status, unbiased by molecular
characteristics. Many technologies use affinity binding to target
an epithelial protein marker, EpCAM, found at the surface of CTCs.
Many cancer types do not express EpCAM and thus avoid capture.
Also, CTCs tend to undergo a transition from epithelial to
mesenchymal where they become more aggressive and invasive. Along
this transition, CTCs down-regulate EpCAM, meaning the most
clinically relevant and aggressive CTCs are missed in an
affinity-based capture process.
-- High CTC recovery and purity from metastatic cancer patients.
The Vortex CTC isolation process provides a high yield of CTCs with
minimal white blood cell contamination. In preliminary clinical
studies, CTCs were isolated with high purity (from 2 to 93 WBCs per
mL blood) from patients with metastatic breast (median 41 CTCs per
7.5mL; n=22), colorectal (median 12 CTCs per 7.5 mL, n=41),
non-small cell lung (NSCLC) (median 26 CTCs per 7.5 mL, n=15), and
prostate (median 6 CTCs per 7.5mL, n=20) cancers A higher purity
CTC sample increases the accuracy and sensitivity of downstream
assays, such as cytology and next-generation sequencing
-- Integration with downstream assays. The VTX-1 fully automated
workflow results in the CTCs being collected in a container of the
user choice. This can be an Eppendorf tube, slide chamber, Petri
dish, or well strip depending on the downstream analytical assay.
Therefore, no transfer of the sample is required, resulting in
higher CTC recovery and less variability from manual
intervention.
-- CTCs are unaltered by the process. CTCs captured by the VTX-1
are unaltered by labels or reagents providing direct access to
intact cancer biology.
The VTX-1 represents the next step in CTC isolation resulting in
meaningful advancements in cancer research and diagnosis.
About Vortex Biosciences
Vortex Biosciences is a cancer research and diagnostics company
that integrates cancer biology, microfluidic engineering and
informatics to develop tools for isolating and characterizing
circulating tumor cells. The Vortex VTX-1 instrument received CE
Mark and FDA Class 1 registration in 2016 and in 2017 launched in
US and Europe. It works by harvesting intact circulating tumor
cells from whole blood samples for use in downstream research and
clinical applications such as patient stratification in clinical
trials, monitoring disease progression and drug treatment
effectiveness. With a mission to enable noninvasive diagnosis of
cancer and real-time monitoring throughout a patient's treatment,
Vortex is at the forefront of accelerating cancer research and
improving patient outcomes. Vortex is a core subsidiary of
NetScientific plc, a transatlantic healthcare technology group with
an investment strategy focused on sourcing, funding and
commercializing technologies that significantly improve the health
and well-being of people with chronic diseases. For more
information, visit www.vortexbiosciences.com.
For more information, please contact:
NetScientific Tel: +44 (0)20 3514 1800
François R. Martelet,
M.D., CEO
Ian Postlethwaite,
CFO
Consilium Strategic
Communications Tel: +44 (0)20 3709 5700
Mary-Jane Elliott Jessica netscientific@consilium-comms.com
Hodgson /
Chris Welsh / Laura
Thornton
Stifel Nicolaus Europe Tel: +44 (0) 20 7710 7600
Limited (NOMAD and Broker)
Jonathan Senior / David
Arch / Ben Maddison
About NetScientific Plc
NetScientific is a transatlantic healthcare technology group
with an investment strategy focused on sourcing, funding and
commercialising technologies that significantly improve the health
and well-being of people with chronic diseases.
For more information, please visit the website at
www.netscientific.net
This information is provided by RNS
The company news service from the London Stock Exchange
END
PRLLLFITFLILFID
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
February 22, 2017 02:00 ET (07:00 GMT)
Netscientific (LSE:NSCI)
Gráfico Histórico do Ativo
De Jun 2024 até Jul 2024
Netscientific (LSE:NSCI)
Gráfico Histórico do Ativo
De Jul 2023 até Jul 2024