MINNEAPOLIS, February 11, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Bio-Techne Corporation (NASDAQ:TECH) today announced that Exosome Diagnostics, a Bio-Techne brand, has recently published a paper entitled Exosome-based Liquid Biopsies in Cancer: Opportunities and Challenges (Yu, W et al.), in the highly rated peer-reviewed journal, Annals of Oncology (link). This review paper provides unique insight into liquid biopsies and the field of exosomes in the context of other liquid biopsies such as cfDNA and CTC analysis. The exosome field has gone through a rapid growth phase in parallel with the increasing attention over the potential of liquid biopsies. Despite recent progress of liquid biopsies for late-stage cancers, there remains a need to improve both the accuracy and utility of these tests, especially in earlier stage cancers. This will likely require a combination of approaches that exploit biomarkers released through different processes.

Exosomes are released from living cancer cells as an active metabolic process, and carry RNA, DNA and proteins. The paper describes how the use of the multi-analyte component of exosomes either alone or in combination with other types of liquid biopsies will be an important tool to overcome limitations with many of the current liquid biopsies, including low signal to noise ratio. The inadequacies of tissue biopsy paired with the paradigm shift to molecular analysis, have driven increasing interest in the molecular profiling of biofluids, also known as “liquid biopsy.”

This approach offers a significant step forward because of its less invasive nature, lower cost, and real-time insights into tumor status. When treating cancer, early detection is key, and utilizing state-of-the art exosome-based technology provides an exciting alternative, and in some cases a complement to other liquid biopsy forms for better overall diagnostic performances.

Specifically, exosomes have been implicated in driving key attributes of malignant cell behavior, including stimulation of tumor cell growth, suppression of the immune response, induction of angiogenesis, promotion of tumor cell migration, and establishment of metastases, making them particularly attractive as cancer biomarkers for clinical diagnostics and research.

According to Dr. Johan Skog, Exosome Diagnostics Chief Scientific Officer, ”Many liquid biopsy companies today focus on a single analyte, such as cfDNA. Our novel approach to the liquid biopsy field makes it possible to not only selectively enrich disease specific exosomes, but also perform the multi-analyte measurements needed for challenging problems, including early detection.”

"Bio-Techne continues to leverage its deep scientific and research expertise to help healthcare providers fulfill unmet clinical needs while improving access to potentially lifesaving liquid biopsy tests. Our exosome technology is the foundation for our ExoDx Prostate test, and the basis for our pipeline of high value liquid biopsy tests. We are looking forward to continuing to shape the liquid biopsy industry with our unique platform and pipeline. " said Chuck Kummeth, President and Chief Executive Officer of Bio-Techne.

About Bio-Techne Corporation (NASDAQ:TECH)
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