Key Highlights
- Shares of VolitionRx (VNRX) climbed over 70% during pre-market hours Wednesday
- The biotech firm achieved circulating tumor DNA (ctDNA) isolation at purity levels above 99% from blood samples
- Their Capture-Seq™ approach employs a dual-step procedure merging physical enrichment with bioinformatics analysis
- Testing outcomes revealed 49/49 cancer identifications in the initial blinded cohort, alongside 13/14 in another group
- Management highlighted a combined addressable market around $36 billion while pursuing licensing partnership discussions
Shares of VNRX rallied more than 70% during Wednesday’s pre-market session following VolitionRx’s announcement of what the company characterized as a breakthrough advancement in liquid biopsy diagnostics.
The biotech company reported achieving isolation of circulating tumor-derived DNA (ctDNA) from blood specimens at purity levels surpassing 99%. This represents the removal of essentially all non-cancerous DNA material, producing a remarkably clean tumor DNA specimen.
Liquid biopsy technology has historically faced a fundamental obstacle: the vast majority of DNA present in bloodstream samples originates from normal, healthy cells rather than malignant ones. Extracting a clear cancer signal from this background noise has presented significant technical challenges. Volition maintains its newly developed approach addresses this longstanding problem.
The methodology, branded as Capture-Seq™, operates through a dual-phase process. Initially, physical enrichment concentrates the target material. Subsequently, sophisticated bioinformatics algorithms eliminate residual interference. According to the company, this produces a dataset exceeding 99% pure ctDNA composition.
Chief Scientific Officer Jake Micallef described the achievement as “a world-first.” He explained that CTCF-bound DNA — the particular DNA biomarker this methodology isolates — shows minimal presence in healthy plasma samples while appearing predominantly as cancer-derived material in patients with malignancies.
“Removal of background normal cell free DNA from the blood to reveal this level of tumor derived DNA has been a long-term goal of liquid biopsy,” Micallef stated in the company’s announcement.
Performance Data From Blinded Testing Cohorts
The company disclosed findings from two separate blinded cohort examinations. Within the initial group, the methodology identified 49 out of 49 cancer cases. The second cohort yielded detection of 13 out of 14 cases.
These figures represent preliminary findings, and both cohorts involve limited sample sizes. Expanded clinical studies will be required prior to any commercial deployment. The approach also captures only a specific fraction of ctDNA, meaning certain tumor-derived fragments may remain undetected.
Volition has submitted a revised manuscript to Research Square, a preprint distribution platform. The research paper awaits peer review, which represents standard protocol before scientific findings gain acceptance within the broader medical research community.
Commercial Opportunity and Market Context
Volition referenced a combined total addressable market estimated at approximately $36 billion, spanning both multi-cancer early detection (MCED) and minimal residual disease (MRD) monitoring applications.
The company disclosed ongoing conversations with prospective diagnostic licensing partners. To date, no formal agreements have been finalized.
VNRX stock was positioned to settle above its 100-day moving average for the first occasion since October 8, 2025, assuming pre-market momentum carried through the regular trading session.
The revised preprint manuscript is anticipated to appear on Research Square in the near term, per company communications.
