A SCOTTISH bio-tech company has developed a novel next generation “liquid biopsy” technology device that could revolutionise the early diagnosis and monitoring of difficult to detect cancers.

BioCaptiva, a University of Edinburgh spin-out, has raised more than £1 million in seed funding from business angel investment syndicate, Archangels, and Scottish Enterprise, to help develop the technology.

To prepare the company for this next stage in its development, BioCaptiva has appointed Dr Frank Armstrong FRCPE as non-executive chairman and Dr Stephen Little as a non-executive director.

BioCaptiva has developed a medical device that captures cfDNA (circulating free DNA) from the blood of patients in much greater quantities than the current standard of a single blood draw can, overcoming a significant current limitation of cancer liquid biopsy testing. Named BioCollector, it works alongside a standard apheresis machine, filtering cfDNA from the patient’s blood system.

The BioCollector is based on a decade of research at the University of Edinburgh, led by Professor Tim Aitman, director of the Centre for Genomic and Experimental Medicine, and Professor Mark Bradley of the University’s School of Chemistry.

Prototypes indicate the potential to detect early-stage cancers in patients without the need for a surgical biopsy and promising new approaches for monitoring and detecting disease recurrence which is not currently possible. The seed investment will enable BioCaptiva to in-license the technology and carry out its first trials to prove its safe use in humans.

Jeremy Wheeler, CEO of BioCaptiva, said: “We are confident that this platform technology can make a significant impact in this important area.”