Biocept and Thermo Fisher Scientific Enter into Technology and Commercial Collaboration

Biocept, Inc. (NASDAQ: BIOC), a leading commercial provider of liquid biopsy tests designed to provide physicians with clinically actionable information to improve the outcomes of patients diagnosed with cancer, announces that it has entered into a non-binding memorandum of understanding with Thermo Fisher Scientific, Inc. to collaborate together commercially.  In the first phase of the collaboration, the parties plan to work together to validate Thermo Fisher's Oncomine™ next-generation sequencing (NGS) liquid biopsy panels in Biocept's CLIA-certified laboratory.  Once validation is complete in addition to other requirements, Thermo Fisher intends to designate Biocept as a "Center of Excellence" for oncology-focused liquid biopsy initiatives and jointly pursue various commercial opportunities.  The companies intend to initially target the pharmaceutical industry to provide diagnostic testing services for drug development, to support clinical trials, and for companion diagnostic (CDx) initiatives.  

The collaboration also includes a plan to evaluate the feasibility of developing best-in-class products based on the integration of Biocept's Target Selector™ technology with Thermo Fisher's Ion Torrent™ NGS platform and Oncomine™ liquid biopsy-based NGS panels.   

"We are excited to expand our work with Thermo Fisher by deriving synergies from the combination of cutting-edge technologies and services from both companies," said Biocept's President and CEO Michael Nall. "We have enjoyed a strong working relationship with Thermo Fisher from the time we launched our Target Selector™ liquid biopsy molecular platform, and look forward to bringing additional best-in class liquid biopsy tests to both pharmaceutical and clinical clients from this collaboration."