Biocept, Plus Therapeutics enter licensing agreement for CNSide

Biocept (BIOC) announced the signing of a non-exclusive licensing agreement for CNSide with Plus Therapeutics, Inc. (PSTV), which expands the laboratory services agreement between the two companies that was announced in June 2022. Plus is using CNSide in a clinical trial with their targeted radiotherapeutic to treat patients with carcinomas and/or melanomas with suspected leptomeningeal metastases, which is cancer in the membranes that surround the brain and spinal cord. CNSide is Biocept’s proprietary cerebrospinal fluid-based tumor cell capture and enumeration platform used in detecting, quantifying, and monitoring tumor status in LM. This new agreement allows for Plus to perform CNSide testing during its clinical trials and commercially, subject to regulatory approval. Biocept will provide expertise, including consulting on equipment and materials sourcing, as well as providing the necessary technology and training to perform CNSide. Plus will pay Biocept an upfront fee of $150,000 in stock, plus $6,000 per CSF tumor cell enumeration analysis performed in Biocept’s CLIA-certified and CAP-accredited laboratory prior to the completion of the technology transfer. Once the technology transfer is complete, Plus will pay Biocept $300,000 plus fees on a sliding scale starting at $2,800 for each CNSide test they perform. The license agreement also gives Plus the option to negotiate for third-party exclusivity with a $1M payment to Biocept.