Netscientific Regulatory News (NSCI)

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Vortex Biosciences paves the way forward in CTC enumeration by introducing impedance measurements

London, UK - 08 November 2018 - NetScientific plc ("NetScientific", AIM:NSCI), the transatlantic healthcare IP commercialisation group, announces that its US-based portfolio company, Vortex BioSciences, has presented a study that demonstrates the feasibility of combining its technology with impedance spectroscopy to improve the analysis of circulating tumour cells (CTCs).

The study presented at NanoBiotech Montreux 2018 introduces the coupling of Vortex technology with an impedance chip for counting and sizing of cancer cells isolated from blood samples. The researchers believe the results provide feasibility for label-free, reliable, fully-integrated cell enumeration, whilst keeping the cells collected intact for downstream transcriptomic, genomic or proteomic analysis.

"With this collaboration and the resulting proof of concept we can apply impedance spectroscopy to the analysis of rare cancer cells. This is a first step towards the use of CTCs for clinical practice" said Pr. Renaud of the Ecole Polytechnique Federale de Lausanne (EPFL).

Commenting on the news, Francois Martelet, Chairman of Vortex BioSciences Inc. and CEO of NetScientific said: "These improvements in sizing and enumeration position Vortex at the very forefront of CTC analysis. By creating a fully automated and reliable process and recently having reached an agreement with STRATEC for mass-manufacturing, Vortex's technology is ready to be adopted by large pharmaceutical players to improve how oncology treatment is determined."

NetScientific holds 66.1% of Vortex Biosciences on a fully diluted basis.

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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 presents a preliminary study at NanoBiotech Montreux Conference that introduces the coupling of Vortex technology with impedance spectroscopy for a complete label-free CTC isolation and enumeration

In Collaboration with Ecole Polytechnique Federale de Lausanne (EPFL), the study introduces the concept of label-free isolation and enumeration of CTCs by Vortex technology combined with impedance measurements.

MENLO PARK, CA, 08 November 2018 - Vortex Biosciences, a leader in solutions for liquid biopsies, has presented an oral and a poster at NanoBiotech Montreux 2018 Conference (October 29-31, Montreux, Switzerland). Data presented at NanoBiotech Montreux demonstrate the feasibility to combine Vortex technology - to rapidly collect highly enriched populations of circulating tumor cells (CTCs) - with impedance spectroscopy - to rapidly analyze the isolated cells by impedance measurements.

Current tumor tissue biopsies are invasive procedures that can be limited by small sample size and difficulty accessing the tumor site, while also missing intra-tumor heterogeneity. These limitations can be overcome with the isolation and analysis of circulating tumor cells (CTCs), continuously shed into the bloodstream by both primary and metastatic lesions. The fully automated, easy to use VTX-1 Liquid Biopsy System represents the next step in CTC isolation. Inside the VTX-1 chip, unlabeled CTCs in whole blood are selectively trapped while red and white blood cells pass through. Trapped CTCs are then released and collected for downstream analysis, with an excellent capture rate of intact CTCs, a high purity, and a simple, easy to use workflow. The study presented at NanoBiotech Montreux 2018 introduces the coupling of Vortex technology with an impedance chip for counting and sizing of cancer cells isolated from blood samples.

"The VTX-1 system has proven to be a simple, automated approach for isolating CTCs," explained Vortex CSO Elodie Sollier, "but CTC enumeration following the gold standard approach still requires immunofluorescence staining and user-dependent enumeration, limiting its clinical acceptance. Such method relies on the antibody sensitivity/specificity, is difficult to integrate, manual, subjective, time-consuming and damages the cells, excluding them from other analysis. As presented at NanoBiotech Montreux, coupling Vortex-based cell capture with impedance cytometry enables a label-free, reliable, fully-integrated cell enumeration, while keeping the cells collected intact for downstream transcriptomic, genomic or proteomic analysis".

"With this collaboration and the resulting proof of concept" said Pr. Renaud, "we can apply impedance spectroscopy to the analysis of rare cancer cells. This is a first step towards the use of CTCs for clinical practice".

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 potentially 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.