CelLBxHealth (AIM:CLBX), the AIM-listed CTC intelligence company specialising in circulating tumour cell technology for research and drug development, said a peer-reviewed study in The Journal of Liquid Biopsy showed its Parsortix platform can detect antibody-drug conjugate (ADC) relevant targets on CTCs from breast and ovarian cancer patients.
Researchers at Trinity College Dublin and St James's Hospital isolated CTCs from patients with metastatic triple-negative breast cancer and advanced epithelial ovarian cancer using the system.
The study detected TROP-2, the target of the approved ADC sacituzumab govitecan, on TNBC patient CTCs including cells with low EpCAM expression that conventional platforms would likely miss.
It also found FRα, the target of the approved ovarian cancer ADC mirvetuximab soravtansine, on CTCs from all three ovarian cancer patients tested.
PD-L1, a marker relevant to combination immunotherapy, was detectable alongside TROP-2 in the same workflow.
ADCs represent a $17 billion global market opportunity, according to the company, with treatment effectiveness dependent on target expression that can vary between patients and change as tumours develop resistance.
"Antibody-drug conjugates are transforming the oncology treatment landscape, and the ability to evaluate target expression from a blood sample could become an important tool for future therapy monitoring workflows", said Lavanya Sivapalan, CelLBxHealth's chief scientific officer.
She added that the results align with the company's strategy to focus on high-value CTC applications in research, drug development and translational oncology.
News Intelligence what this means for the company
Independent researchers at Trinity College Dublin and St James's Hospital published peer-reviewed evidence that Parsortix can detect antibody-drug conjugate targets on circulating tumour cells that conventional platforms miss—specifically TROP-2 on triple-negative breast cancer CTCs with low EpCAM expression, and FRα on ovarian cancer CTCs. The finding validates a high-value clinical application in a $17 billion global ADC market where treatment efficacy depends on patient-specific target expression that varies and evolves with resistance.
- The result supports CelLBxHealth's stated strategy to focus on high-value CTC applications in drug development and translational oncology, positioning Parsortix as a potential therapy monitoring tool in ADC workflows.
- The detection of multiple markers (TROP-2, FRα, PD-L1) in the same workflow demonstrates platform capability for combination therapy assessment, expanding potential use cases beyond single-target detection.
This peer-reviewed validation of Parsortix's ability to detect clinically relevant ADC targets on CTCs missed by conventional methods strengthens the commercial case for adoption in oncology drug development and monitoring. Against CelLBxHealth's cash position of £2.9m and monthly burn of £0.3–0.4m as of June 2026, evidence of platform differentiation in a large market segment is material to the company's path to revenue sustainability, though the study itself does not announce new commercial partnerships or revenue.
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