Cost-Effective Liquid Biopsy Assay Potentially Less Invasive

Menarini Silicon Biosystems, a pioneer of liquid biopsy technology, has announced that it will introduce a new semi-automated assay workflow utilizing the CELLSEARCH^® and DEPArray^TM platforms to enumerate and characterize circulating multiple myeloma cells (CMMC) from peripheral blood samples.

Preliminary data to be presented at the Molecular Medicine Tri-Conference suggests that the ability to obtain CMMCs via liquid biopsy may enable clinical researchers to better understand tumor biology, particularly in early stage disease. In addition, this workflow could potentially offer a less invasive alternative to more expensive and painful bone marrow biopsy.

“The combined capabilities of CELLSEARCH together with our DEPArray system enhance our ability to enable meaningful advances in the field of personalized medicine,” said Bob Roda, President and CEO of Menarini Silicon Biosystems Inc. “We are advancing our technologies in order to help clinicians and researchers deepen their understanding of tumor progression.”

The new assay is currently available as a laboratory service at Menarini Silicon Biosystems.

A second presentation will examine the importance of obtaining pure cell populations for comprehensive molecular analysis and will introduce attendees to the DEPArray^TM FFPE SamplePrep Kit, which can be used for the disaggregation and staining of FFPE (formalin-fixed, paraffin-embedded) tissue sections down to a single-cell suspension.
The kit streamlines FFPE analysis by assembling all necessary reagents and providing a standardized protocol that is optimized for the DEPArray system. This offers a reduction in total sample prep time while also reducing user variability in obtaining 100% pure tumor cell populations - which can improve downstream molecular analysis.

“We’re committed to working in partnership with those in the personalized medicine field and give them the solutions that will help quicken the pace of discovery,” said Roda.