The Memo: BIOCAPTIVA Redefining Liquid Biopsy at the Source

Under the direction of CEO Jeremy Wheeler, BIOCAPTIVA is advancing a new category of pre-analytical technology designed to unlock the full potential of liquid biopsy by fundamentally improving how cell-free DNA (cfDNA) is captured at the source. Through its proprietary msX™ polymer platform and newly launched msX-B beads, the company is addressing one of the most persistent and limiting challenges in molecular diagnostics: the quality of the starting material.

Origin Story

BIOCAPTIVA was founded at the intersection of deep medtech experience and a critical gap in molecular diagnostics. With more than 30 years of experience spanning medical X-ray, early Alzheimer’s detection, depth-of-consciousness monitoring, and video laryngoscopy, CEO Jeremy Wheeler had repeatedly seen how the performance of advanced diagnostics is ultimately constrained by the quality of the input.

That perspective sharpened through engagement with the University of Edinburgh, where a novel approach to cfDNA extraction was under development. What initially appeared to be an incremental improvement quickly revealed a more fundamental issue.

“Early diligence revealed something more significant than an incremental improvement: liquid biopsy, despite its promise, was constrained by a critical pre-analytical bottleneck.”

Recognizing both the technical gap and the scale of the opportunity, BIOCAPTIVA was spun out in 2021 to commercialize a fundamentally new approach to cfDNA capture.

The Current Landscape

Liquid biopsy has emerged as one of the fastest-growing segments in diagnostics, with applications in early cancer detection, minimal residual disease monitoring, and therapy selection. Yet despite significant investment, performance limitations persist.

As Wheeler explained during his LSI Europe ‘25 presentation:

“Diagnostic companies are still using the same sample collection processes that have been in place for the last 40 years.”

The issue is not the analytics. It is the sample.

Across the industry, cfDNA workflows are constrained by:

• Extremely low concentrations of cfDNA in blood 
• Contamination from genomic DNA (gDNA) released by lysed cells 
• Rapid degradation of fragmented DNA 
• Variability introduced by complex, multi-step extraction workflows

These challenges directly limit sensitivity, particularly in early-stage disease where signal is already scarce.

The result is a structural bottleneck that affects every liquid biopsy application, from oncology to prenatal testing.

Inside the Innovation

BIOCAPTIVA’s approach is to address the problem at its source.

The msX platform is a proprietary polymer coating that captures cfDNA directly from biological fluids. BIOCAPTIVA’s first commercial product, msX-B whole blood beads, enables direct-from-blood workflows without the need for traditional extraction.

Unlike conventional methods, msX-B:

• Binds cfDNA directly from whole blood without preprocessing 
• Eliminates the need for harsh reagents or buffers 
• Preserves DNA integrity during capture 
• Enables scalable processing from milliliters to liters

At a technical level, msX is a sequence-independent polymer coating that binds cfDNA based on its physicochemical properties, enabling preferential capture of fragmented nucleic acids while excluding cellular debris, proteins, and vesicle-bound DNA.

The msX-B bead format is designed for integration into existing workflows, including magnetic bead systems and automated platforms, and can be applied across plasma, whole blood, and other biofluids.

The result is high-purity cfDNA with an improved signal-to-noise ratio, directly impacting downstream sequencing performance and assay sensitivity.

Because the process avoids chemical additives and preserves sample integrity, it also enables compatibility with multi-omic workflows and future integration into both automated systems and collection devices.

Progress and Milestones

BIOCAPTIVA has now entered the commercial phase with the launch of msX-B whole blood beads, marking a key transition from platform development to real-world application.

Key milestones include:

• Spinout from the University of Edinburgh (2021) 
• Platform validation and product development 
• Commercial launch of msX-B
• Expansion into strategic partnerships and OEM channels

The company is currently raising a £5 to £7 million Series A round to scale commercial adoption and move toward profitability.

Looking ahead, BIOCAPTIVA is expanding the msX platform into:

• cfRNA capture
• Multi-omic workflows
• OEM integration into automated extraction systems
• At-home and remote sampling models

This positions the company as a platform enabler across the liquid biopsy value chain rather than a single-product developer.

BIOCAPTIVA’s core insight is straightforward. Liquid biopsy is limited not by the sophistication of downstream diagnostics, but by the quality of the starting material.

By shifting innovation upstream, the company is redefining where value is created and enabling a new level of sensitivity, scalability, and clinical utility for precision diagnostics.

BIOCAPTIVA is not improving extraction—it is attempting to redefine where sensitivity in liquid biopsy is created.

Join Us at LSI Asia ‘26

Wheeler has been selected to present at LSI Asia '26, June 30th–July 3rd, in front of hundreds of global medical technology companies. Join us in welcoming him to the event in Singapore, where he will share the latest updates on BIOCAPTIVA’s technology and development.