Clearbridge Biomedics partners with Cambridge Consultants on Liquid Biopsy Device

Technology design and development firm Cambridge Consultants Ltd. is working with Singapore-based Clearbridge Biomedics on a device to improve cancer testing and research. A second-generation version of Clearbridge’s ClearCell System, the device is designed to enable tumor cells to be retrieved and detected faster, and hopefully more accurately, than the original system could from a simple blood sample.

There were an estimated 12.7 million new cancer cases diagnosed worldwide in 2008—the latest year for which figures are available—and 7.6 million deaths. The number of cases is expected to increase to
21 million by 2030. The major cause of death from cancer is the spread of the cancer from its original site to the rest of the body, and traditional diagnosis methods involve invasive biopsies that do not easily detect the spread of the disease.

The new ClearCell System was designed to keep the diagnosis tool as low-cost and non-invasive as possible, relying only on a blood sample for diagnosis, known as “liquid biopsy.” Cambridge Consultants has expertise in microfluids and automation control, which Clearbridge is depending upon for the design. The system will detect circulating tumor cells (CTCs) in the bloodstream that have detached from a patient’s primary tumor, even at concentrations of as low as one in a billion blood cells.

Early detection of these CTCs can increase patients’ chances of survival, and tracking the cell count over time could help ensure more effective treatment. According to Cambridge officials, the new testing device also has solved the technical challenge of retrieving the cells intact, offering detailed insight into the exact nature of the cancer and its unique characteristics. The hope is that this new technology will lead to a new generation of personalized cancer treatments to fit the needs of each patient’s unique tumor biology.

“It is a tribute to our track record in diagnostic device development that we have been approached from Singapore to help with this development work,” said Duncan Bishop, program director in the Medical Technology Division of Cambridge Consultants. “We can also offer a complete end-to-end solution, including blood handling, rapid prototyping and manufacturing trial devices, which is invaluable to start-up companies.”

Clearbridge BioMedics is a spin-off from the National University of Singapore and the first member of the Clearbridge Accelerator technology incubator, which is supported by the Singapore government’s National Research Foundation and SPRING Singapore (an agency under the Ministry of Trade and Industry). Clearbridge BioMedics specializes in applications for cancer research and diagnostics.

“The ClearCell System from Clearbridge BioMedics is designed to resolve the current limitations of today’s technologies for detecting and isolating circulating tumor cells,” said Johnson Chen, managing partner of Clearbridge Accelerator. “It potentially represents the next generation of cancer screening, diagnosis, personalized medicine and treatment monitoring. The world-class diagnostic device expertise of Cambridge Consultants made it the winner when it came to selecting a development partner.”

Cambridge consultants is based in Cambridge, Mass. The company develops products, creates and licenses intellectual property, and provides business consultancy in technology critical issues for clients worldwide.

Photo of CTChip-R for retrieval and analysis of CTCs courtesy of Clearbridge Biomedic. The CTCChip-R is contained inside the Clearcell System.