Biocept Comments on Updated Consensus Medical Guidelines Recommending Liquid Biopsy for Profiling of Tumor Biomarkers to Assist with the Treatment of Patients with Lung Cancer

SAN DIEGO, Jan. 30, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- 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, comments on the recently updated consensus clinical guidelines from four major societies considered authorities in pathology and oncology that recommend the use of liquid biopsy testing for patients newly diagnosed with lung cancer as well as those progressing on first-line targeted therapy.

The evidence-based guidelines were developed in collaboration by the College of American Pathologists (CAP), the International Association for the Study of Lung Cancer (IASCL), the Association for Molecular Pathology (AMP) and the American Society for Investigative Pathology (ASIP), and jointly published in the Archives of Pathology & Laboratory Medicine, Journal of Thoracic Oncology and The Journal of Molecular Diagnostics. The published guidelines can be found on the IASLC's website.

"These leading medical associations clearly see that liquid biopsy can be critical for obtaining actionable molecular information to improve treatment outcomes of patients diagnosed with lung cancer," said Veena Singh, M.D., Senior Vice President and Senior Medical Director at Biocept. "We believe the updated medical guidelines are likely to increase the use of liquid biopsy technology by pathologists and oncologists.  This could lead to more patients benefitting from Biocept's assays, which focus specifically on validated actionable biomarkers, offer industry-leading performance, and are reimbursed by many health plans."

Key guideline updates with regard to the use of liquid biopsy include the following:

• Recommendation 16: In some clinical settings in which tissue is limited and/or insufficient for molecular testing, physicians may use a cell-free plasma DNA assay to identify EGFR mutations.
• Expert Consensus Opinion 17: Physicians may use cell-free plasma DNA methods to identify EGFR-T790M mutations in lung adenocarcinoma patients with progression or secondary clinical resistance to EGFR-targeted tyrosine kinase inhibitors; if the plasma result is negative, testing of the tumor sample is recommended.

Michael Nall, Biocept's President and CEO, added, "The promise of liquid biopsy is beginning to be realized broadly, given the ability to use a simple blood sample to access the same information found with an invasive tissue biopsy. Inclusion in the medical guidelines is a major milestone and demonstrates that liquid biopsy truly has potential to become part of standard practice. At Biocept, we believe that our patented and proprietary liquid biopsy technologies used to provide cutting-edge molecular assays offer additional benefits that no one else in the industry can deliver. We intend to focus on these new guidelines to increase adoption of our Target Selectortm platform as oncologists and pathologists make the most appropriate treatment decisions for their patients."

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 Selectortm liquid biopsy technology platform captures and analyzes tumor-associated molecular markers in both circulating tumor cells (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.

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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 outcomes of patients diagnosed with cancer,  the increased use of liquid biopsy technology by pathologists and oncologists, more patients benefiting from our assays,  liquid biopsy becoming part of standard practice, and our ability to increase adoption of our Target Selectortm platform, 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.

SOURCE Biocept, Inc.