Calendar An icon of a desk calendar. Cancel An icon of a circle with a diagonal line across. Caret An icon of a block arrow pointing to the right. Email An icon of a paper envelope. Facebook An icon of the Facebook "f" mark. Google An icon of the Google "G" mark. Linked In An icon of the Linked In "in" mark. Logout An icon representing logout. Profile An icon that resembles human head and shoulders. Telephone An icon of a traditional telephone receiver. Tick An icon of a tick mark. Is Public An icon of a human eye and eyelashes. Is Not Public An icon of a human eye and eyelashes with a diagonal line through it. Pause Icon A two-lined pause icon for stopping interactions. Quote Mark A opening quote mark. Quote Mark A closing quote mark. Arrow An icon of an arrow. Folder An icon of a paper folder. Breaking An icon of an exclamation mark on a circular background. Camera An icon of a digital camera. Caret An icon of a caret arrow. Clock An icon of a clock face. Close An icon of the an X shape. Close Icon An icon used to represent where to interact to collapse or dismiss a component Comment An icon of a speech bubble. Comments An icon of a speech bubble, denoting user comments. Comments An icon of a speech bubble, denoting user comments. Ellipsis An icon of 3 horizontal dots. Envelope An icon of a paper envelope. Facebook An icon of a facebook f logo. Camera An icon of a digital camera. Home An icon of a house. Instagram An icon of the Instagram logo. LinkedIn An icon of the LinkedIn logo. Magnifying Glass An icon of a magnifying glass. Search Icon A magnifying glass icon that is used to represent the function of searching. Menu An icon of 3 horizontal lines. Hamburger Menu Icon An icon used to represent a collapsed menu. Next An icon of an arrow pointing to the right. Notice An explanation mark centred inside a circle. Previous An icon of an arrow pointing to the left. Rating An icon of a star. Tag An icon of a tag. Twitter An icon of the Twitter logo. Video Camera An icon of a video camera shape. Speech Bubble Icon A icon displaying a speech bubble WhatsApp An icon of the WhatsApp logo. Information An icon of an information logo. Plus A mathematical 'plus' symbol. Duration An icon indicating Time. Success Tick An icon of a green tick. Success Tick Timeout An icon of a greyed out success tick. Loading Spinner An icon of a loading spinner. Facebook Messenger An icon of the facebook messenger app logo. Facebook An icon of a facebook f logo. Facebook Messenger An icon of the Twitter app logo. LinkedIn An icon of the LinkedIn logo. WhatsApp Messenger An icon of the Whatsapp messenger app logo. Email An icon of an mail envelope. Copy link A decentered black square over a white square.

St Andrews biotech firm granted US patent for ‘game-changing’ cancer detection device

Biocaptiva has been granted an American patent to protect its cancer-detection technology

Jeremy Wheeler, CEO and co-founder of Biocaptiva Image: Biocaptiva
Jeremy Wheeler, CEO and co-founder of Biocaptiva Image: Biocaptiva

A St Andrews biotech company has been granted an American patent for its “ground-breaking” cancer detection device.

Biocaptiva has secured the legal protective rights for its msX technology, a liquid biopsy tool used to extract cell-free DNA from fluids.

The technology can improve the detection of cancers, Biocaptiva said, and allows for more “accurate and sensitive tests” without the need for amplification or deep sequencing.

This in turn, can result in more “precise” clinical decisions.

It is used in the company’s BioCaptis medical device, and the company believes securing the patent will enhance the potential of their research into cancer detection.

US Patent for St Andrews’ Biocaptiva

The company is one of a growing number of Scottish biotech firms which have spun out from a leading university.

Jeremy Wheeler, CEO of Biocaptiva, hailed his company’s achievement.

He said: “This US patent grant is a crucial achievement for Biocaptiva.

Image: Shutterstock

“It not only secures our intellectual property but also underscores the extensive potential of our technology, which we’ve been developing since spinning out of Edinburgh University in 2020.

“What began as a focused research project and a single medical device has evolved into a comprehensive platform with far-reaching implications for liquid biopsy and the broader biomedical industry.”

What is liquid biopsy?

Liquid biopsy is a test which enables the diagnosis or analysis of tumours using only a blood or fluid sample, rather than a solid tissue biopsy.

They offer a broader, dynamic range of applications, particularly useful for monitoring treatment response and disease progression.

The patented msX technology will form the foundation of Biocaptiva’s current and future product pipeline, they added.

It will allow medics to capture nucleic acids directly from biological fluids like blood and plasma in much greater quantities than is possible through current testing methods.

The patent covers both in-vivo and ex-vivo applications, including their BioCaptis device, all aimed at improving cancer management.

Through the protections, Biocaptiva said it plans to leverage its technology across multiple applications.

Biocpativa plans for its msX technology to play a crucial role in advancing personalised medicine, enhancing molecular diagnostics for disease detection beyond cancer and transforming biomedical research.

Conversation