Zencurix "Genobio Registers US Patent for Core Technology of Liquid Biopsy CTC Equipment... Secures Competitiveness"

[Asia Economy Reporter Hyunseok Yoo] GenCurix announced on the 14th that its subsidiary GenoBio has completed the registration of a U.S. patent for the cartridge technology of CTC (circulating tumor cell) equipment. This patent is expected to secure price competitiveness for CTC equipment used in liquid biopsy and accelerate the popularization of testing.

The patent registered by GenoBio is a technology that mounts the cartridge form for separation after inputting a blood sample into the CTC equipment. Existing chip production for micro-particle separation and capture applied ultra-precision mechanical technology (MEMS), which involved cost burdens. To improve this, only the part where the blood sample is input and separated was separated into a cartridge form so that the highly technical area can be reused without contamination.

GenoBio’s developed ‘GenoCTC’ separates high-purity CTCs by reacting antibodies combined with magnetic beads to specific antigens present on the surface of cancer cells and then using magnetic force. It can use plasma directly without separate preprocessing. It is currently registered as a Class 1 medical device by the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety.

The company stated, “The cartridge system secured through this patent will enhance the stability and convenience of testing,” adding, “It is expected to reduce the cost burden of liquid biopsy tests using expensive CTC equipment.”

CTCs are cancer cells that detach from the primary tumor and circulate in the blood, contributing to cancer metastasis. Since only about 5 CTCs exist among approximately 1 billion blood cells in 1 milliliter (ml) of blood, the technological barrier to separating cancer cells is very high.

A GenCurix official said, "So far, there has been no successful case of mass production of CTC equipment, and GenoBio is the only company that can separate CTCs without pre- and post-processing steps of blood samples," adding, "GenoBio is already providing clinical services to some medical institutions and pharmaceutical companies using equipment applied with this patent."

He continued, "Using the mechatronics technology of our subsidiary NanobioLife, we plan to develop and release within this year a compact CTC separation device that can be directly introduced in medical institutions.”

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.