This is specifically for the Clearbridge BioMedics ClearCell FX CTC enrichment system and the Leica Biosystems’ BOND RX staining platform. This new partnership provides an integrated and automated workflow for CTC enrichment and immunostaining, improving on major challenges in CTC liquid biopsy testing, such as handling and standardisation.
The ClearCell FX System is an automated CTC enrichment system, powered by the patented CTChip FR1 microfluidics biochip. Using a label-free approach, the ClearCell FX System retrieves wholly-intact and viable CTCs from a standard blood draw. The gentle sorting principle retains high cell integrity and cell surface antigen expression. This coupled with single-step CTC retrieval, provides a seamless integration into pathology lab workflows.
Automated CTC staining on a glass slide is then performed on Leica Biosystems’ BOND RX. The BOND RX platform is an open and flexible system that efficiently automates staining for immunofluorescence (IF), immunohistochemistry (IHC) and fluorescent in-situ hybridisation (FISH) assays. It provides a high-throughput workflow with exceptional consistency and minimal hands-on time.
Linking these two advanced technologies will empower researchers and laboratories with an integrated solution for CTC enrichment and immunostaining, accelerating the development of clinical applications using CTCs.
“The global liquid biopsy market has been growing significantly and will continue to grow, due to trends such as rising prevalence of cancer, preference for personalised medicine and the move towards non-invasive procedures. Today’s partnership announcement between Leica Biosystems and Clearbridge BioMedics provides clinical research laboratories with a seamless end-to-end enrichment and immunostaining solution for CTCs. This will support the development of new therapies and diagnostics for cancer patients,” said Dr Michael Paumen, CEO Clearbridge BioMedics.
“At LBS we strive to provide our customers with the most complete set of clinically relevant, emerging technologies on our Bond Rx platform. CTCs are of increasing interest to organisations involved in translational medicine, companion diagnostics and investigational research. Partnering with Clearbridge BioMedics to improve the ease-of-use when processing CTCs offers major steps forward in productivity and consistency. Creating automated workflows is a necessary precondition for wide spread adoption of CTCs as a sample type. We are very pleased to be partnering with Clearbridge BioMedics in a manner that leverages our respective strengths in cell processing and immunostaining” said Colin White, Phd Global Vice President Advanced Staining at Leica Biosystems.
