Revolutionizing cancer care, Creatv Bio enables early detection and real-time monitoring through its LifeTracDx® blood-based diagnostics.
Cancer care is evolving rapidly, with early detection and precise diagnostics playing a crucial role in improving patient outcomes. As cancer remains one of the leading causes of death worldwide, innovative solutions are needed to provide accurate, timely, and accessible diagnostics. Creatv Bio, a division of Creatv MicroTech, Inc., is at the forefront of this transformation, revolutionizing cancer screening and diagnosis with cutting-edge blood-based technologies.
Creatv MicroTech incorporated in Delaware in 2000 and is headquartered in Potomac, MD, Creatv Bio is dedicated to advancing cancer care by providing oncologists with essential insights that enable early detection, continuous monitoring, and personalized treatment strategies. Under the visionary leadership of Dr. Cha-Mei Tang (Founder & CEO) and Daniel L. Adams (Chief Scientific Officer), the company has pioneered groundbreaking diagnostic innovations that address some of the biggest challenges in oncology. By leveraging novel biomarkers and state-of-the art microfiltration technology, Creatv Bio is redefining the future of cancer diagnostics—ensuring that patients receive the best possible care at the right time.
The Birth of Creatv Bio: A Mission-Driven Evolution
Dr. Cha-Mei Tang’s journey to founding Creatv Bio is a testament to her passion for scientific innovation. A graduate of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology with bachelor’s, master’s, and Sc.D. (equivalent to Ph.D.) degrees, Dr. Tang has been curious about all aspects of science, life, business, and even marketing. Dr. Tang initially spent 18 years performing theoretical research on relativistic electron beams and free electron lasers. Then, she decided to try something different. Seeking a new challenge, she founded Creatv MicroTech to advance microfabrication technologies to improve x-ray imaging.
Creatv is still involved in various types of microfabrication research and services. Initially, Creatv was focused on research and scientific developments primarily funded by research grants, but rather than commercialization. Soon afterward, Creatv expanded to the development of biological applications.
Daniel L. Adams, the company’s CSO, played a crucial role in identifying and studying a unique biomarker found in Creatv Bio’s blood test for cancer. He was the first to develop a broad spectrum of diagnostic applications based on this novel biomarker and his pioneering work has reshaped the landscape of cancer detection and treatment.
What started as a microfabrication company soon took on a greater purpose. Dr. Cha-Mei Tang’s scientific expertise and Daniel L. Adams’ discovery of novel biomarkers catalyzed the formation of Creatv Bio, a company dedicated to redefining cancer diagnostics and improving patient care.
Since 2010, the company has been focused on developing a blood test for cancer screening and diagnostics, utilizing its microfabrication filters, called CellSieve™, to collect Circulating Tumor Cells (CTCs) from the blood of cancer patients. This became the Creatv Bio Division, which now represents 95% of the company.
Creatv Bio’s Breakthrough Technologies
Creatv Bio provides services to i) individuals and oncologists, and ii) pharmaceutical companies developing cancer drugs and therapies, enabling them to quickly determine the effectiveness of their drugs. The company has a research laboratory in New Jersey, and is establishing a CLIA lab to provide service to the general public.
Creatv Bio’s advancements are driven by two breakthrough technology innovations: CellSieve™ Microfilters and Cancer-Associated Macrophage-Like Cells (CAMLs).
- CellSieve™ Microfilters:The microfilter was developed to capture cancer-associated cells from blood that are larger than red blood cells and most white blood cells. It has a 7-8 micron pore diameter and 180,000 pores within a 9 mm diameter area. It has very low background autofluorescence, enabling high-quality imaging of the cells, and enabling companion diagnostics. It can process 15 mil of the sample, 7.5 mil of whole blood mixed with 7.5 mil of fixation buffer, in just 3 minutes. The process removes all red blood cells and 99.99% of white blood cells. Cells larger than 10 microns and clusters cannot go through the pores, and they are captured on top of the filter. The cells on the filter are stained by biomarkers of interest by fluorescent dyes.
- Cancer-Associated Macrophage-Like Cells (CAMLs):When they processed the first patient samples, they captured Circulating Tumor Cells (CTCs,) and a lot of large strange-looking cells. However, they could not find a single publication on the clinical applications of those cells. Daniel Adams performed systematic and accurate analysis of those strange cells and showed that they were not CTCs, but they expressed macrophage markers. They named those cells CancerAssociated Macrophage-like Cells (CAMLs) and published them in the PNAS journal in 2014. CAMLs are typically 25-300 microns in size. They are polynucleated as the result of tumor cells they engulfed. When they are small, they are round or oval-shaped. They are often found as large rod shapes. Some of them have one tail or two tails on opposite sides of the cells. The tails can be very long. They have processed blood from more than 30 different tumor types and found CAMLs in the blood of all those different tumor types. The general characteristics of the CAML cells are the same, independent of the type of cancer. They even find CAMLs in stage 1 of all those cancers. However, they have not observed CAMLs in healthy controls.
In the last 2-3 years, other researchers began to publish on CAMLs often giving them different names, which independently validated their work
- LifeTracDx®: A Comprehensive Blood Test for Cancer Creatv Bio’s LifeTracDx® blood test applies to all types of cancer, (solid tumors and blood cancers) and all stages. LifeTracDx® blood test applies to both cancer screening and diagnostics. Here are three components to cancer screening and the LifeTracDx® test applies to all of them.
- The detection of cancer in all stages in multiple organs in people who did not previously have cancer.
- The detection of minimal residual disease at the end of treatment.
- The detection of cancer recurrence of cancer patients in remission. Imaging can be used to detect cancer recurrence, but that requires tumors to grow larger to be detected. LifeTracDx® can detect cancer recurrence much earlier than imaging.
LifeTracDx® blood test is also applicable to a spectrum of cancer diagnostics applications benefiting the cancer patients under treatment by oncologists.
▪ LifeTracDx® can determine if the patient is responding to a new therapy in about 30 days after the first dose. So, patients will not be wasting time on ineffective treatment waiting for imaging to show the tumor increased in size.
▪ Many FDA-approved therapies, and many in clinical trials target specific markers on the tumor cells. If the tumor expresses these specific markers, then the patient will most likely benefit from these drugs. The assay to determine if the patient’s cancer expresses the drug target is called companion diagnostics. Most companion diagnostics in the market require tumor tissue. The cost of acquiring tumor tissue for many cancers can be expensive and difficult. Repeating the acquisition of the tumor tissue sample is usually not possible. LifeTracDx® can provide companion diagnostics using a blood test. One of the most useful companion diagnostics is for PD-L1 to determine if the patient will benefit from immunotherapy. An example will be given in a later section.
▪ LifeTracDx® can determine the aggressiveness of the patient’s cancer at any time. Many features of CAMLs and CTCs captured on the filter provide useful information. For example, patients with a CAML larger than 50 microns in one tube of blood have a poor prognosis.
▪ LifeTracDx® can provide continuous monitoring of the patient’s treatment response, providing information not readily available by imaging. Continuous monitoring is also important because the tumor markers change during treatment.
▪ LifeTracDx® can provide numerous copies of unfragmented tumor DNA for sequencing mutations, amplifications, and deletions. DNA from CAMLs provides a much higher quality than short fragments of circulating tumor DNA (ctDNA) in blood.
The Biggest Challenges in Cancer Diagnosis and Treatment
There are many big challenges to cancer diagnostics and treatment. Cancer therapy has improved significantly, but there are still many types of cancer without therapy.
Another problem is that tumors evolve constantly mutating to avoid being killed by drugs targeting them. Cancer cells are survivalists. They’re adept at siphoning the body’s resources to fuel their rampant growth, and skilled at slipping past immune defenses evolved to stop them. Even when beaten back by drug therapies, malignant cells can acquire new abilities to thwart treatment.
Most current diagnostic procedures rely on tissue samples, but biopsies are not always possible or repeatable. This limitation hinders the ability to monitor cancer in real time. Liquid biopsies, such as blood tests, offer a less invasive alternative by providing crucial tumor information. Creatv Bio addresses this challenge with the LifeTracDx® blood test, which delivers detailed insights into cancer progression and treatment response, helping oncologists make timely, data-driven decisions.
Academic and Industry Collaborations
Creatv Bio has partnered with over 20 leading research institutions, universities, and pharmaceutical companies. The Creatv Bio has received numerous research grants from prestigious organizations like the Defense Advanced Research Project Agency (DARPA), the National Institute of Health (NIH), and other agencies, enabling them to obtain data from many different cancers and clinical applications. Creatv has 29 journal publications and book chapters (https://creatvbio.com/journals) and many poster presentation each year (https://creatvbio.com/posters).
The Future of Cancer Care
It is sad to say that ~40% of Americans will develop cancer in their lifetime. In the United States, cancer is the second leading cause of death, and cancer incidence is increasing.
Unlike competitors, Creatv Bio’s LifeTracDx® test effectively detects early-stage cancers like breast, prostate, and kidney, where existing technologies fall short.
To ensure global accessibility, the company plans to expand through strategic partnerships and licensing agreements. Additionally, AI and machine learning are being integrated to scale up operations and enhance diagnostic precision.
A Message to Patients, Healthcare Professionals, and Investors
Dr. Tang says that at Creatv Bio, we believe the future of cancer care lies in precision, accessibility, and real-time monitoring. Our LifeTracDx® blood test is designed to provide oncologists with critical insights at every stage of a patient’s cancer journey—answering essential questions like:
◦ How aggressive is the cancer?
◦ Is the current therapy effective?
◦ Has the tumor evolved?
Continuous monitoring is crucial for optimizing treatment plans. As cancer mutates over time, adjusting therapy based on the latest tumor characteristics can make all the difference.
One major advancement in cancer treatment is immunotherapy, enabling the body’s T-cells to kill the tumor cells, which leverages the body’s immune system to fight cancer. Many immunotherapies have been developed and approved by the FDA. To determine if a patient will benefit from immunotherapy, the checkpoint inhibitor PD-L1 marker needs to be highly expressed on the tumor cells. The immunotherapy drug will block PD-L1, enabling killer T-cells to kill the tumor cells.
However, there are challenges:
▪ PD-L1 expression changes over time, making it difficult to determine if a patient is a good candidate for immunotherapy. In many of our clinical trials, we observed patients changing from low PD-L1 to high PD-L1. Then immunotherapy significantly extended those patients’ lives that became PD-L1 high.
▪ Most current companion diagnostics require tumor tissue, which is invasive and not always feasible.
▪ Cost barriers are significant: Why don’t oncologists just give immunotherapy drugs to everyone? There are many reasons. One reason is the high cost of immunotherapy drugs ranging from $100,000 to $250,000 per year, depending on the patient’s body mass.
Creatv Bio offers a solution. LifeTrax® blood test enables oncologists to determine not only if existing therapy is working or not, but it can also track PD-L1 expression of the tumor in real-time—helping oncologists to determine the benefit of adding immunotheray. LifeTracDx® blood test ensures that patients can receive the right treatment at the right time, maximizing effectiveness while reducing unnecessary costs.
