What is SnapPath™?
The SnapPath™ biomarker testing system* is an automated live tumor cell processing platform that enables next-generation predictive tests—known as Functional Signaling Profiles (FSPs)—to guide targeted drug therapy selection for individual cancer patients.

To date, molecular testing of solid tumors has relied primarily on the testing of dead, formalin-fixed samples. The SnapPath™ platform uniquely enables the ex vivo induction of functional biomarkers to show how a patient’s live tumor cells respond to pathway stimulants (such as growth factors) and inhibitors (therapeutic drugs).

How does it work?
To begin, a patient's biopsy sample is loaded onto a cartridge and processed by the SnapPath™ platform. The process takes approximately thirty minutes and involves the following:

Dispersion: Live tumor cells from a fine needle aspiration biopsy (FNA) or other live sample type are loaded onto the cartridge and placed in the platform. The dispersion process mechanically disaggregates solid tissue into smaller groupings of living solid tumor cells more suitable for stimulation, inhibition and molecular analysis.

Enrichment: Following disaggregation, non-tumor cells are removed from the sample using antibody-coated magnetic beads, thereby enriching the tumor sample population to facilitate downstream molecular analysis.

Distribution: Following enrichment, the live sample is distributed via automated fluidics into multiple test chambers for ex vivo modulation. The number of test wells—up to five—is dependent upon the input, selected analytes and downstream analytical technology.

Ex vivo Modulation: Once distributed into test wells, various stimulators (growth factors) and inhibitors (therapeutic drugs) are incubated with portions of the sample. By modulating live cells in this manner, the SnapPath™ platform evokes phosphoprotein-based Functional Signaling Profiles that are subsequently compared against the unstimulated (“basal”) sample. A portion of the sample is reserved for traditional biomarker analysis.

Stabilization, Extraction and Analysis: Following ex vivo modulation, samples are stabilized for off-platform extraction and phosphoprotein analysis.The SnapPath™ platform is agnostic to the type of analytical technology procedures that can also be performed for RNA and DNA analysis.

What are the advantages of the system?
The evolution of “personalized medicine” is changing the way oncologists diagnose and treat cancer. Over the past few years, there has been a clear shift in the oncology pipeline away from traditional cytotoxic drugs to more molecularly targeted agents. Similarly, there has been a shift away from simple, single-target drugs towards inhibition of complex signaling pathways. In each case, the need for more complex functional biomarkers has emerged. SnapPath™, not only provides a means for preserving functional information within a cell, it more importantly enables the generation of Functional Signaling Profiles (FSPs).

*For Research Use Only (RUO). Not for use in diagnostic procedures.