Biocept Expands Chinese Patent Protection Covering Key Technologies for Circulating Tumor Cell Capture and Analysis Used in Liquid Biopsy Tests

SAN DIEGO, Sept. 1, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- Biocept, Inc. (NASDAQ: BIOC), a molecular diagnostics company commercializing and developing blood-based liquid biopsies to provide information to physicians to improve the diagnosis and treatment of cancer, announces the grant of a Chinese patent entitled, METHODS AND REAGENTS FOR SIGNAL AMPLIFICATION.  The issued patent corresponds to the current Chinese Patent Application No. 201180056340.0 and covers the use of a novel stain in the detection of rare cells such as CTCs from blood and other biological fluids.  This newly awarded patent works in combination with a patent previously granted to Biocept in China that corresponds to the use of a microchannel to capture and interrogate rare cells.

The issuance of this patent provides additional protection in China to Biocept's key technologies that are core to its CTC platform. This staining method is a component of the Company's proprietary Cell Enrichment and Extraction (CEE™) platform, providing for the high-efficiency capture, visualization, and microscopic analysis of targeted cells that are obtained from a patient's blood sample and used by physicians to aid in medical decision making.

Lyle Arnold, Ph.D., Chief Scientific Officer at Biocept, said, "The issuance of this patent further strengthens our patent protection in China covering our core technologies that are central to Biocept's platform for the transport, capture, enrichment, identification and analysis of CTCs from blood samples and other biological sample types."

Michael Nall, Biocept's President and Chief Executive Officer, added "We continue to broaden the intellectual property protection for our unique methods of capturing and analyzing cancer cells in blood and other biological fluids. The granting of patents overseas supports our initiatives to expand the distribution and adoption of our liquid biopsy platform around the world and to enable patients to gain access to the best technologies in their fight against cancer."

About Biocept

Biocept, Inc. is a molecular diagnostics company with commercialized assays for lung, breast, gastric, colorectal and prostate cancers, and melanoma.  The Company uses its proprietary liquid biopsy technology to provide physicians with information for treating and monitoring patients diagnosed with cancer. The Company's patented Target Selector™ liquid biopsy technology platform captures and analyzes tumor-associated molecular markers in both CTCs and in plasma (ctDNA). With thousands of tests performed, the platform has demonstrated the ability to identify cancer mutations and alterations to inform physicians about a patient's disease and therapeutic options. For additional information, please visit www.biocept.com.

Forward-Looking Statements Disclaimer Statement

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 diagnosis and treatment of cancer, our ability to strengthen and broaden our intellectual property protection, and our ability to expand the distribution and adoption of our liquid biopsy platform around the world, 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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SOURCE Biocept, Inc.

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