Revolutionizing Lung Cancer Monitoring with CellBio™ a2000: Reliable Isolation of CTCs and CTMs for Precision Oncology

Introduction: Transforming Liquid Biopsy

Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer (NSCLC) accounts for over 85% of lung cancer cases globally and remains one of the leading causes of cancer-related deaths. Early detection and longitudinal monitoring are critical, yet traditional tissue biopsies are invasive, costly, and limited in representing tumor heterogeneity.

Circulating tumor cells (CTCs) and circulating tumor microemboli (CTMs) have emerged as powerful biomarkers for real-time tumor profiling, treatment monitoring, and predicting metastasis risk. GBC’s CellBio™ a2000 platform addresses these needs by providing automated, size-based, label-free isolation of CTCs and CTMs — unlocking a new paradigm for precision oncology.

Study Overview: NSCLC Clinical Validation

In a prospective study involving 35 NSCLC patients, the CellBio™ a2000 system demonstrated its ability to reliably capture intact CTCs and CTMs from 7.5 ml of blood using patented iFiltration™ technology.

Key highlights:

• Dual Staining Strategy:

• Papanicolaou stain → detailed morphological structure

• Immunofluorescence staining → molecular characterization

Combining both approaches improved detection sensitivity and accuracy.

• Detection Performance:

• 74% overall sensitivity for CTCs/CTMs in NSCLC

• 100% detection in untreated patients, enabling potential early-stage diagnosis

• 68% detection in patients undergoing therapy, supporting real-time monitoring

• CTMs in 7 Patients: Indicates high metastatic potential and enables risk stratification.

Why It Matters for Pharma

Pharmaceutical companies developing targeted therapies and immuno-oncology treatments are increasingly seeking liquid biopsy solutions for:

• Patient Stratification — Identify responders and non-responders earlier

• Treatment Monitoring — Track therapy effectiveness dynamically

• Minimal Residual Disease (MRD) Detection — Enable adaptive treatment strategies

• Biomarker Discovery — Access intact, viable cells for downstream multi-omics analysis

CellBio™ a2000 offers a robust, validated platform to facilitate clinical trials and companion diagnostics.

Future Directions

By integrating AI-assisted image analysis and multi-omic profiling pipelines, GBC is paving the way for next-generation personalized oncology solutions. Our collaborations with leading academic centers and biotech innovators further strengthen our ability to deliver clinically actionable insights.

Call-to-Action

Partner with GBC to harness the power of CellBio™ a2000 and drive breakthroughs in precision oncology.

Contact us → https://www.gbc.com.tw/en/contactus

CellBio™ FX10 Wins 2025 Taiwan Excellence Award

Driving Excellence in Diagnostics

GBC has been honored with the 2025 Taiwan Excellence Award for its CellBio™ FX10 system, a milestone in circulating tumor cell (CTC) detection. This prestigious award celebrates products that exemplify “innovation, design, quality, and marketability,” and underscores that CellBio™ FX10 sets the bar in diagnostic instrumentation.

Technical Innovation with Patented iFiltration™

Powered by GBC’s proprietary iFiltration™ technology, CellBio™ FX10 efficiently captures circulating tumor cells directly from minimal blood samples, achieving over 90% capture rate. This non-invasive, high-precision method supports early cancer detection and dynamic disease monitoring.

Impacting Cancer Research and Clinical Practice

With its automation and sensitivity, CellBio™ FX10 enables timely detection of tumor cells, aiding clinicians in treatment planning, patient monitoring, and early intervention—critical in precision oncology.

Comprehensive Recognition of GBC’s R&D Strength

Winning the Taiwan Excellence Award affirms GBC’s leadership in in vitro diagnostics, precision instrumentation, and oncology monitoring, reflecting our ongoing dedication to healthcare innovation.

AI-Powered Kidney Stone Screening: A Breakthrough in Non-Invasive Diagnostics

Artificial intelligence is driving rapid advances in precision diagnostics, offering new tools to detect diseases faster, more accurately, and less invasively. One emerging application is AI-powered kidney stone screening, which uses routine health check data combined with machine learning algorithms to predict individual risk levels.

How the Technology Works

Unlike traditional methods such as X-rays or CT scans, which are costly, time-consuming, and involve radiation exposure, this AI-based system leverages non-invasive health data like:

• Demographics (age, gender, BMI)

• Urinalysis results (pH levels, red blood cells, bacterial counts, etc.)

Machine learning models then analyze these data points to predict kidney stone risk with impressive performance metrics. Recent studies have reported:

• Accuracy: 91.7%

• AUC: 96.7%

• Sensitivity: 87.3%

• Specificity: 94.5%

Clinical Implications

By offering fast and non-invasive risk assessment, AI-powered screening could:

• Identify high-risk patients earlier

• Reduce unnecessary imaging tests

• Optimize resource allocation in clinical workflows

• Improve patient outcomes through preventive intervention

Why This Matters for the Future

While GBC is not the developer of this technology, we closely track emerging innovations like AI-assisted diagnostics to understand their impact on healthcare ecosystems.

Advances in machine learning, digital health integration, and predictive analytics are shaping the next wave of personalized medicine, an area GBC actively explores through its own IVD, molecular diagnostics, and digital healthcare solutions.

CTC Applications in Sarcoma Research: From Detection to Precision Oncology

Sarcomas are a group of rare malignant tumors arising from soft tissues such as fibrous tissue, fat, muscle, synovium, and connective tissues. They account for ~1% of all malignant tumors and mainly affect adults aged 20 to 60.

Epidemiology:

• U.S.: ~12,000 new cases annually

• Taiwan: ~500 new cases per year

• Common sites:

• Upper & lower limbs (~50%)

• Retroperitoneum & trunk (~40%)

• Head & neck (~10%)

• Special subtype: Gastrointestinal stromal tumors (GIST) originate from interstitial cells of Cajal, affecting the stomach, small intestine, colon, and rectum.

Causes and Risk Factors

• Unknown etiology in most cases

• Certain cases linked to trauma or prior radiation exposure

• Some linked to familial genetic syndromes and hereditary mutations

Clinical Presentation

• Extremity sarcomas: often present as painless subcutaneous masses

• Intra-abdominal sarcomas: frequently asymptomatic until tumors grow large enough to compress surrounding organs, nerves, or vessels

• Thoracic sarcomas: may cause respiratory discomfort

Patterns of Spread

• Direct invasion into surrounding tissues

• Hematogenous metastasis — most commonly to lungs and liver

• Lymphatic spread — extremely rare

CTC Analysis: A New Frontier in Sarcoma Diagnosis

Sarcoma’s heterogeneity and deep-seated tumor sites make early detection and treatment monitoring challenging. Traditional imaging may fail to identify micrometastases or detect early tumor spread.

Circulating Tumor Cells (CTCs) — cancer cells shed into the bloodstream — provide a real-time, minimally invasive diagnostic alternative.

Applications in Sarcoma Care:

• Early detection & staging → Detect potential metastasis before imaging

• Therapy monitoring → Assess treatment response dynamically

• Personalized medicine → Enable genomic profiling of CTCs to guide therapy

• Research insights → Study tumor heterogeneity, resistance, and progression patterns

Future Integration with Digital Health and AI

Combining CTC detection with AI-driven image analysis and multi-omic profiling enhances sensitivity and accuracy, particularly in rare cancers like sarcoma. This approach offers clinicians better tools for staging, monitoring, and optimizing personalized therapies.

GBC’s Commitment to Innovation

At GBC, we recognize the transformative potential of CTC analysis in sarcoma research and precision oncology. Our R&D ecosystem — spanning liquid biopsy, molecular diagnostics, and AI integration — is aligned with advancing non-invasive, real-time insights to support earlier detection and improved patient care.

CellBio™ Wins Bronze at Taiwan’s National Pharmaceutical Technology & R&D Awards

GBC’s CellBio™ liquid biopsy platform has earned a Bronze Award in the Medical Device category at the National Pharmaceutical Technology & R&D Awards, a prestigious national program co-hosted by the Taiwan Food and Drug Administration (TFDA) and the Industrial Development Administration, MOEA. The award recognizes outstanding innovation, clinical potential, and industry impact.

iFiltration™ Technology: Enabling Intact CTC Capture

CellBio™ uses patented iFiltration™ technology to automatically capture and preserve intact circulating tumor cells (CTCs) and other rare cells directly from blood samples.

This preserves cell morphology and protein expression, enabling downstream cytology, immunostaining, FISH, qPCR, NGS, and other multi-omic analyses, supporting precision oncology workflows.

Driving the Future of Precision Medicine

CellBio™ bridges research and clinical practice, empowering physicians with actionable insights for early detection, disease monitoring, and treatment evaluation.

This recognition reflects GBC’s leadership in automated intact-cell analysis and reinforces our commitment to innovation in translational medicine.

Looking Ahead

With an integrated ecosystem spanning R&D, manufacturing, clinical applications, and laboratory services, GBC is advancing CellBio™ solutions worldwide to make precision diagnostics more accessible and impactful.

Exploring Emerging Trends in Medical Technology: Precision Medicine

The Genetic Nutrition & Functional Medicine Association, in collaboration with GBC and Leopard Gene, recently hosted a high-profile seminar titled “Precision Medicine in Comprehensive Health.” This well-attended event brought together experts across clinical and biotech fields to explore innovations propelling the future of healthcare.

Key themes discussed included:

1. Next-Generation CTC Detection: Exploring clinical use cases and emerging trends in capturing circulating tumor cells.

2. Advancements in Next-Generation Sequencing (NGS): Future applications and technology evolution.

3. Integrated Healthcare Models: Innovative approaches emerging in precision and preventive medicine.

Canada is increasingly embracing precision medicine alongside preventive approaches. GBC showcased its CellBio™ platform, drawing particular praise for its powerful clinical potential. Leveraging patented membrane filtration, the platform delivers over 90% tumor cell recovery, preserving complete cell morphology and enabling downstream applications like NGS, WGS, RT-PCR, cell culture, and anticancer drug sensitivity testing. Fully automated with no need for sample preprocessing, the system enhances downstream accuracy while reducing manual error—and it’s offered in both high-throughput (FX10) and compact (a2000) formats.

Looking ahead, GBC remains committed to advancing medical technology and driving precision medicine globally. We appreciate the enthusiasm and support of all participants in making this event a success.

P113 Antimicrobial Peptide Transforms Oral Care | oh care® Science-Backed Solutions for Family Health

Redefining Oral Care Through Science

The oral care industry has long lacked disruptive innovation. Leveraging decades of research, GBC introduces the P113 antimicrobial peptide, a breakthrough derived from the naturally occurring histatin-5 protein in human saliva.

With broad-spectrum antibacterial and antifungal properties, P113 selectively inhibits Streptococcus mutans and other oral pathogens, maintaining a healthy oral microbiome from the source.

Clinically Proven, Scientifically Validated

P113 is backed by clinical studies involving over 1,000 participants, demonstrating:

• Powerful antimicrobial efficacy — inhibits up to 90% of harmful oral bacteria

• Low allergenicity — safe for sensitive oral mucosa and skin

• Non-cytotoxicity — suitable for infants, pregnant women, and sensitive groups

• Globally recognized safety — data cited by international research institutions, aligning with global oral care standards

These findings make P113 a new-generation antimicrobial solution combining safety and efficacy.

Introducing the oh care® Oral Care Series

Through its subsidiary GB Pharma, GBC has transformed P113 technology into the oh care® consumer healthcare line, featuring:

• Gentle antimicrobial mouthwash

• On-the-go oral spray

• P113-powered toothpaste

The oh care® series embodies “Science × Safety × Daily Wellness”:

• Alcohol-free, fluoride-free formulations

• Free from preservatives, colorants, and artificial sweeteners

• Designed for all ages, including infants, pregnant women, and seniors

Beyond Oral Care: Expanding the Vision

The potential of P113 goes beyond oral health.

GBC is collaborating with research partners to explore applications in skin protection, mucosal care, and immune modulation, paving the way for next-generation consumer healthcare solutions.

Conclusion

P113 is more than an innovation — it’s a bridge between science and daily life.

By integrating P113 into the oh care® series, GBC sets a new benchmark for safe, effective, and science-driven oral care, embodying our vision:

“Bringing Science into Everyday Wellness.”

AI-Powered Cervical Cancer Screening

Revolutionizing Cervical Cancer Screening with AI

Cervical cancer remains one of the most preventable cancers when detected early, yet traditional cytology workflows are labor-intensive and time-consuming. GBC, in partnership with Danner Lab, has introduced an AI-powered digital pathology platform that automates the entire screening process, improving accuracy and efficiency.

How It Works: Thin-Layer Smears + AI Deep Learning

Using thin-layer smear preparation, cellular debris and background noise are removed, producing a clear, single-cell layer. Each specimen generates 2,300+ high-resolution images, which are analyzed by a deep learning model trained on the Bethesda classification system—the global standard for cervical cytology.

This AI-driven process can automatically classify cells, flagging potential abnormalities for review, and significantly reducing manual workload.

Key Advantages

• Higher Accuracy: AI improves consistency and reduces human error.

• Faster Results: Automated analysis accelerates screening turnaround times.

• Regulatory Compliance: Overcomes limitations such as Taiwan and U.S. regulatory caps of ≤80 slides/day per cytologist.

• Scalable Applications: Supports not only cervical cancer screening but broader digital pathology and drug discovery workflows.

Why It Matters

By combining AI with optimized smear preparation, GBC is reshaping traditional cytology into a high-throughput, precision-driven, and scalable process. This represents a breakthrough for both population-based screening programs and personalized medicine, ensuring patients receive earlier, more accurate results.

Ct Value Explained: What It Means for COVID-19 Testing

1. What Is Ct Value in Real-Time PCR?

Real-Time PCR (qRT-PCR), also known as quantitative PCR, leverages primers and probes (commonly TaqMan chemistry) to produce fluorescence as target DNA is amplified—enabling instant quantitative detection. The Ct value, or cycle threshold, is the number of cycles required for fluorescence to exceed a predefined threshold.

A low Ct value indicates high initial viral load, while a high Ct value suggests lower viral presence. For example, a Ct of 25 implies detection occurred after approximately 2²⁵ amplification cycles.

2. GBC’s Ct Threshold and Sensitivity

GBC’s GB SARS-CoV-2 Real-Time RT-PCR kit (4PCO052E) has a Ct cutoff of 37 cycles and a limit of detection (LoD) of 1,000 copies/mL—demonstrating high analytical sensitivity.

3. Why Ct Values Aren’t Absolute Indicators

Though Ct values are useful, they aren’t definitive. Ct can vary due to:

• Sample collection method, specimen type, and quality

• Reagent design, brand, and lot variability

• Timing of sample collection relative to disease progression

Thus, clinical context and patient symptoms remain primary for decision-making.

4. Interpreting Ct in High-Volume Settings

During surges, some regions may adjust Ct thresholds for ending isolation to balance diagnostic rigor with healthcare capacity. In these contexts, Ct should be interpreted cautiously to avoid premature release from isolation and ensure patient and public safety.

5. Clinical Takeaways

• Low Ct values usually correlate with high infectivity or early disease onset.

• High Ct values may reflect late-stage infection, testing delays, or reduced risk of transmission.

• Ct is a useful reference point but should never replace assessment based on symptoms and clinical judgment.

RAPID TEST vs. PCR: Understanding COVID-19 Detection Methods

1. The Global Shift to Rapid Screening

With recurring COVID-19 case surges, many regions—including Taiwan since April 2022—struggled to maintain PCR testing capacity. Rapid antigen tests gained traction because they are easy, fast, and suitable for mass screening.

2. How Rapid Antigen Tests Work (Lateral Flow Assay)

Rapid tests use lateral flow immunochromatography, composed of four key components:

• Sample pad → receives nasal or saliva sample

• Conjugate pad → carries monoclonal antibodies bound to colloidal gold

• Nitrocellulose membrane → displays results

• Wicking pad → ensures liquid flow via capillary action

If viral antigen (typically nucleocapsid protein) is present, you’ll see both T (test) and C (control) lines—indicating a positive result. Without antigen, only the C line appears, indicating a negative result.

3. RT-PCR: The Gold Standard

PCR amplifies viral RNA (converted to cDNA) using a specific primer-probe design, increasing target DNA exponentially—thus offering much higher sensitivity and specificity than antigen tests. GBC’s GB SARS-CoV-2 RT-PCR kit (4PCO052E) features:

• Ct threshold of 37 cycles

• Detection limit: 1,000 copies/mL

• Capable of detecting low viral loads through 2³⁷-fold amplification

4. Rapid antigen tests and RT-PCR serve different purposes in COVID-19 diagnostics, each with distinct strengths:

  • Speed — Rapid tests deliver results in about 15 minutes, while RT-PCR usually takes several hours.
  • Ease of Use — Rapid tests can be performed by anyone, even at home. RT-PCR requires trained personnel and specialized equipment.
  • Sensitivity — RT-PCR is far more sensitive, capable of detecting very low viral loads. Rapid tests are better at identifying cases with high viral loads.
  • Use Cases — Rapid tests are ideal for mass screening and self-checks, while RT-PCR remains the gold standard for clinical confirmation and early detection.

In short, rapid tests are designed for convenience and speed, whereas RT-PCR ensures maximum accuracy and plays a critical role in healthcare decision-making.

5. Interpreting Discordant Results

Occasionally, a rapid test may show positive, and PCR negative, or vice versa. This can be due to:

• Variations in sample collection or viral load

• Differences in kit sensitivity or quality

In such cases, PCR serves as a confirmatory test.