Genomill Health has announced promising results from a pilot study demonstrating that its Bridge Capture technology matches the sensitivity of droplet digital PCR (ddPCR) for mutation profiling in cell-free DNA from metastatic colorectal cancer patients. The study, published in Scientific Reports, positions the technology as a potential game-changer for liquid biopsy applications in cancer diagnostics.
Clinical Performance Matches Gold Standard
The pilot study, conducted in collaboration with Professor Ari Ristimäki's group at Helsinki University Hospital, demonstrated high concordance between Bridge Capture and both ddPCR and Ion AmpliSeq methods. Notably, the technology revealed several previously unknown oncogenic mutations that reflected disease progression across longitudinal plasma samples.
"Bridge Capture matched or exceeded gold-standard methods in detecting mutations in patient samples. Its ability to track changes over time could be a powerful tool for monitoring cancer progression and relapse," said Simona Adamusová, Doctoral Researcher and co-first author of the study.
Professor Ristimäki expressed particular enthusiasm for Bridge Capture's capability to combine highly scalable, sensitive targeted sequencing with cost-efficiency and ease of use, viewing this as an important advance that could significantly expand the use of liquid biopsies in treatment monitoring.
Technology Advantages and Scalability
Bridge Capture distinguishes itself from existing methods through its unlimited panel scalability and simplified workflow that enables decentralized NGS testing. The technology is built on Genomill's Geno1 platform, which utilizes circular DNA and linear DNA amplification approaches.
"This clinical pilot study highlights Bridge Capture's readiness for real-world applications in liquid biopsy," said Manu Tamminen, CEO and Co-Founder of Genomill. "The unparalleled simplicity of the laboratory workflow and the compatibility across multiple sequencing platforms lays ground for distributed, decentralized, longitudinal cancer diagnostics."
Technical Innovation
The technology represents a fundamental shift in NGS library design. Juha-Pekka Pursiheimo, CTO and inventor of the technology, explained that "Bridge Capture establishes a new standard for NGS library design by using circular single-stranded DNA - a more flexible and robust alternative to traditional linear libraries. Together with our PCR-free DNA amplification approaches, this positions Genomill to revolutionize NGS library preparation."
Clinical Implications
By removing cost and infrastructural constraints that currently hinder routine use of liquid biopsies, Genomill seeks to establish Bridge Capture as an enabling technology for highly accessible cancer diagnostics. The technology's ability to provide sensitive mutation detection while maintaining cost-efficiency could significantly expand access to liquid biopsy testing in clinical practice.
The full study, titled "Evaluation of Bridge Capture technology for mutation profiling in liquid biopsies of metastatic colorectal cancer patients," is available in Scientific Reports, marking an important milestone in the development of accessible liquid biopsy technologies for cancer care.
