Today (the 22nd), the 2025 National Biotechnology Research Park (NBRP) Demo Day entered its second day. During the event, a startup pitch competition was held, featuring 5-minute presentations from 16 teams that advanced from an initial pool of 30. Five teams/companies were selected for awards: the Translation award went to CellMax Life, the Impact award to Oncocross, the Innovation award to Bo-Shiun Chu’s Lab at Linkou Chang Gung Memorial Hospital, the Potential award to GeneReach, and the Investment award to Prophet Genomics.

Translation award: CellMax Life

CellMax Life focuses on the innovation and application of liquid biopsy technology. By utilizing technology licensed from the University of Michigan, they have developed the Labyrinth circulating tumor cell (CTC) processing system, which enables label-free, high-throughput acquisition of live CTCs. The system completes CTC isolation within 15 minutes, significantly improving the purity, efficiency, and viability of CTCs extracted from blood samples.

CellMax Life aims to address the challenges associated with traditional tumor tissue biopsies. The Labyrinth CTC processing system has demonstrated a 97% concordance rate compared to traditional tissue biopsies and can detect ductal carcinoma in situ (DCIS) in patients before the cancer progresses. The system is currently being used in academic research settings, with the goal of advancing toward clinical companion diagnostics next year. CellMax is currently raising $3 million in its pre-Series A funding round.