ApoCell Expands Immuno-Oncology Biomarker Services to Develop Liquid Biopsy and Tumor Tissue Tests using the PerkinElmer Vectra Polaris Platform

HOUSTON, Sept. 12, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- ApoCell, Inc., a pioneer in customized biomarker solutions, today announced the offer of services using the PerkinElmer Vectra® Polaris™ System Automated Quantitative Pathology Imaging System in combination with the company's platform technology to develop proprietary liquid biopsy and immuno-oncology tissue biomarker tests. By combining Vectra Polaris and ApoStream® technologies, the enhanced capabilities are designed to advance immuno-therapy candidates from pre-clinical discovery through Phase III clinical trials using smaller samples of both tumor biopsies and liquid biopsies to generate data required for assessing drug efficacy.

"We are very excited to offer services using the Vectra Polaris and Opal™ technologies for image analysis of circulating tumor cells (CTCs) following ApoStream's isolation and enrichment functionality," said Darren Davis, PhD, ApoCell President and CEO. "Together, these technologies will enable accelerated drug development through detection of CTC biomarkers in liquid biopsies." 

Circulating tumor cells have long been known to exist in cancer patients' blood. However, the promise of clinical application of CTCs as a 'liquid biopsy' has not born fruit because these cells are very rare and difficult to detect and analyze using current molecular biology techniques. ApoCell's proprietary ApoStream technology uses a low-level electrical field to capture significant quantities of rare circulating cancer cells from small quantities of blood for further molecular testing. ApoStream has been used in over 75 clinical trials and ApoCell has supported over 275 drugs in Phase I through III development.

The Vectra Polaris is a multispectral imaging system that supports the simultaneous quantification and analysis of multiple biomarkers. Coupling the ability of the Polaris system to image CTCs in parallel to analysis of tumor tissue sections enables a comprehensive approach to better analyze and understand immuno-oncology drug mechanisms. "This immuno-oncology testing capability is an important addition to our existing flow cytometry and next-generation sequencing (NGS) services. We are committed to continuing innovation that supports the testing of biomarkers to deliver on the promise of personalized medicine and improving the lives of patients with debilitating diseases," said Davis.

About ApoCell

Based in Houston, Texas, ApoCell, Inc. is a privately-held specialty clinical research company. Founded in 2004, the firm is a leader in biomarker detection and analysis and leverages its expertise in the areas of immuno-oncology, diabetes, molecular diagnostics and drug development to measure biomarker signatures in clinical trial subjects. The company's proprietary methods provide early proof of mechanism of action and monitor the effectiveness of various types of drugs by measuring biomarker expression patterns in biopsies, blood and rare cell types including circulating tumor cells (CTCs). The company's facilities are CLIA-certified and compliant with applicable FDA regulations. Since inception, the company has participated in over 275 Phase I, II, and III clinical cancer drug trials for more than 150 sponsor clients worldwide. For more information visit www.apocell.com.

For more information on ApoCell's immuno-oncology testing services, please visit:
https://www.apocell.com/what-we-do/areas-of-expertise/immuno-oncology/

SOURCE ApoCell

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http://www.apocell.com