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Vortex Biosciences Announces Publication of Liquid Biopsy Study in Nature Partner Journals Genomic Medicine

London, UK - 1 November 2017 - NetScientific plc ("NetScientific", AIM:NSCI), the transatlantic healthcare IP commercialisation group, announces an update from its portfolio company, Vortex BioSciences, which today announced the publication of "Workflow optimization of whole genome amplification and targeted panel sequencing for CTC mutation detection" in Nature Partner Journals (npj) Genomic Medicine on 1 November 2017. Source: https://tinyurl.com/ybhuzpu4 DOI Number: 10.1038/s41525-017-0034-3

The peer-reviewed publication describes the use of Vortex's technology to capture and examine circulating tumor cells (CTCs) from patients with colorectal cancer. Vortex's technology allows for an optimised workflow for performing whole genome amplification (WGA) and targeted next-generation sequencing (NGS) on these captured CTCs. The study was completed in collaboration with Professor Stefanie Jeffrey, Chief of Surgical Oncology Research at Stanford University School of Medicine.

Commenting on the news, Francois Martelet, Chairman of Vortex BioSciences Inc. and CEO of NetScientific said: "We are pleased to see the publication of high-impact research in the field of liquid biopsy involving Vortex's VTX-1 platform, which we believe can give researchers the opportunity to open new windows into understanding cancer. This research marks an important step point in the commercialisation journey for Vortex, with the paper demonstrating the ability for CTCs collected by the VTX-1 machine to understand cancer progression, enabling disease identification and monitoring."

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About NetScientific

NetScientific is a transatlantic healthcare technology group with an investment strategy focused on sourcing, funding and commercialising technologies that significantly improve the health and well-being of people with chronic diseases. For more information, please visit the website at www.netscientific.net

Vortex Biosciences Announces Publication in NPJ Genomic Medicine Describing Next Gen Sequencing of Pooled CTCs Isolated from Colorectal Cancer Patients

The High Purity of CTCs Collected Using the VTX-1 Liquid Biopsy System Enables Next Gen Sequencing Analysis

MENLO PARK, CA, November 01 - Vortex Biosciences, provider of circulating tumor cell (CTC) capture systems, today announced the publication of "Workflow optimization of whole genome amplification and targeted panel sequencing for CTC mutation detection" in NPJ Genomic Medicine from Nature Research on November 01. The peer reviewed publication describes the use of the Vortex technology to capture CTCs from colorectal cancer patients and apply an optimized workflow for performing whole genome amplification (WGA) and targeted next-generation sequencing (NGS) on these captured CTCs. The research described in the paper was completed in collaboration with Professor Stefanie Jeffrey, Chief of Surgical Oncology Research at Stanford University School of Medicine. Performing NGS on isolated CTC populations opens new windows into the real-time understanding of a patient's evolving cancer.

Genomic mutation profiling of CTCs provides valuable information for determining potential treatment paths in cancer. Here, targeted NGS allows for the rapid detection of a variety of mutations from CTCs in a single sample, expanding the opportunity for CTCs to be used as a replacement for conventional tissue biopsies in the identification of appropriate drug treatment and the monitoring of cancer progression.

In this study, each step in the NGS workflow was tested, including optimization of DNA extraction, evaluation of different WGA methods with characterization by targeted MiSeq NGS. Optimal methods for genomic analysis of FFPE tissue samples and rare pooled CTCs were determined. The overall workflow was further tested on samples from patients with metastatic colorectal cancer, assaying both liver tissue metastases and CTCs. CTCs were isolated utilizing Vortex technology, which captured both single-cell and clustered CTCs. This publication confirms the successful use of the Vortex technology in targeted NGS analysis of pooled CTCs.

"We're excited that the purity of the CTC sample collected by the VTX-1 Liquid Biopsy System enables Next Gen Sequencing," said Elodie Sollier-Christen, Chief Scientific Officer of Vortex Biosciences. "Understanding the oncogenic mutations that are the drivers of a patient's disease is now simpler to identify and monitor throughout treatment."

The Vortex VTX-1 Liquid Biopsy System utilizes a proprietary microfluidic chip to capture CTCs in micro-scale vortices based on their size and deformability. While the CTCs are trapped in these micro-scale vortices, the red and white blood cells flow past, allowing for recovery of a highly enriched CTC sample. This unique approach to CTC isolation results in the capture of viable CTCs that are high in purity making a sensitive and accurate analysis by targeted NGS achievable. Furthermore, CTCs are captured and collected unbiased by their molecular characteristics. Interestingly, most of the CTCs isolated from the colorectal patients in this study did not show any cytokeratin (CK) or epithelial cell adhesion molecule (EpCAM) expression, but displayed mainly mesenchymal features (vimentin and N-Cadherin). CTCs negative for epithelial markers (CK, EpCAM), would have been missed by many CTC isolation approaches that utilize these epithelial markers for CTC capture and detection.

The fully automated VTX-1 Liquid Biopsy System from Vortex represents the next step in CTC isolation. With a cancer cell recovery of 65-75%, best-in-class CTC purity, and collection of label-free viable CTCs ready for downstream analysis, the VTX-1 offers the best CTC samples available today.

About Vortex Biosciences

Vortex Biosciences is a cancer research and diagnostics company that integrates cancer biology, microfluidic engineering and informatics to develop tools for isolating and characterizing circulating tumor cells. The Vortex VTX-1 instrument harvests intact circulating tumor cells from whole blood samples for use in downstream research and clinical applications such as patient stratification in clinical trials, monitoring disease progression and drug treatment effectiveness. With a mission to enable noninvasive diagnosis of cancer and real-time monitoring throughout a patient's treatment, Vortex is at the forefront of accelerating cancer research and improving patient outcomes. Vortex is a core subsidiary of NetScientific plc, a transatlantic healthcare technology group with an investment strategy focused on sourcing, funding and commercializing technologies that significantly improve the health and well-being of people with chronic diseases. For more information, visit www.vortexbiosciences.com.

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