Shares of Biocept Inc (NASDAQ:BIOC) rocketed by double-digits Monday after the supplier of liquid biopsy tests announced the commercial launch of its Target Selector NGS Lung Panel.
Biocept’s stock recently traded up 36% to $1.11 a share on higher-than-average volume.
According to a statement from the San Diego-based company, Target Selector is Biocept’s multi-gene liquid biopsy panel specifically developed for lung cancer and runs on Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc's (NYSE:TMO) Ion Torrent next generation sequencing (NGS) platform and will be marketed to physicians and researchers.
READ: Biocept prices $8.2M registered direct offering to institutional investors
The company said it can be used to detect and monitor actionable biomarkers associated with lung cancer, which is the leading cause of cancer death for both men and women in the US.
The panel combines Biocept's laboratory and commercial infrastructure, as well as the company's expertise in blood sample preservation and DNA/RNA isolation with Thermo Fisher's industry leading NGS panel and informatics technology branded as Oncomine, the statement said.
"We are very pleased to launch our first multi-gene liquid biopsy panel to physicians and researchers in both academic centers and the pharmaceutical industry," said Biocept CEO Michael Nall. "This new solution makes Biocept the only commercial liquid biopsy company that can offer customers the flexibility to order either a customized single biomarker assay or a larger NGS-based liquid biopsy test panel for use when more comprehensive testing is desired.”
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