GenoBio recently launched an updated version of its GenoCTC platform — GenoCTC v5 — in South Korea and anticipates an international launch by June of this year.

The GenoCTC v5 is for research use only, and the updates include improved separation, an integrated operating system to improve user convenience, and a reduction in size and weight by over 50 percent. CTCs isolated on the GenoCTC v5 platform are then analyzed with Bioview’s DeNovo imaging and analysis instrument.

At the recent Tri-Con summit in San Diego, Chaithanya Chelakkot, scientific adviser to GenoBio, presented data from two clinical studies, which the company intends to publish in peer-reviewed journals this year. The company is also currently testing the GenoCTC v5 in several international clinical studies aimed at evaluating various aspects of EpCAM-positive and c-Met positive CTCs in cancer settings.

Similar to GenoBio and FCS Technology, Menarini’s CellMag platform is also for research use only. At present, the CellMag kit is only for epithelial CTCs, but the company is exploring kits for the enrichment of other rare cell types. It is also testing the possibility of adapting its CellMag workflow to perform parallel EpCAM-dependent enrichment of tumor-derived extracellular vesicles and CTCs from the same blood sample.