For more than two decades, Creatv MicroTech, Inc. has quietly shaped the future of advanced diagnostics by combining deep scientific curiosity, innovative engineering, and a relentless commitment to saving lives.
With three divisions of microfabrication services, biotechnology research, and blood-based diagnostics, Creatv MicroTech stands at the intersection of physics, engineering, and cancer biology. While its origins lie far from oncology, a series of bold decisions and unexpected discoveries led to the formation of Creatv Bio. It is the division that is now transforming cancer detection and diagnostic precision through its pioneering LifeTracDx® technology.
This is the story of a company where scientific breadth, intuitive exploration, and unexpected opportunity have converged to build one of the most promising cancer-diagnostic platforms of the next decade.
A Vision to Transform How Cancer is Detected
Creatv Bio was founded on a powerful vision to detect cancer early, when treatment is most effective, and provide precision diagnostics that guide therapy, monitor response, and predict patient outcomes.
Its mission is equally ambitious, which is to transform cancer screening and diagnostics by detecting and diagnosing cancer when it matters most, ultimately saving and improving lives worldwide.
Through LifeTracDx®, Creatv Bio offers blood-based solutions with the potential to revolutionize how clinicians make treatment decisions, assess treatment efficacy, and monitor cancer progression.
A Founder Driven by Curiosity and a Bold Career Pivot
The origins of Creatv MicroTech trace back to the scientific curiosity of its founder, Cha-Mei Tang, whose academic foundation sits firmly in electrical engineering and theoretical physics.
After completing a doctoral degree in electrical engineering, she spent 18 years studying relativistic electron beams and free-electron lasers, a path far removed from diagnostics and cancer research.
But a life-changing event prompted a critical decision point: continue in the established trajectory of physics research or pivot into a new area of innovation.
He chose reinvention.
Motivated by an interest in applied science and technology, Cha-Mei Tang founded a company dedicated initially to microfabrication and X-ray imaging improvements. Over the years, this early focus led to a versatile microfabrication division that still operates today.
Yet the story didn’t end there. Her “broad scientific interests,” as she describes them, paved the way for another evolution, into advanced assays for pathogen detection. This work included identifying anthrax spores in the air and detecting bacterial contamination in food and water.
And then, in 2010, a discovery changed everything.
A New Class of Tumor-Associated Cells
A client’s request for microfilters triggered a turning point. Creatv engineered a microfilter with 7-micron pores that is designed to capture circulating tumor cells (CTCs) from blood. While the client ultimately used another supplier, the technology itself sparked the company’s next chapter.
Instead of shelving the innovation, the team tested the filter themselves. They captured CTCs as expected, but something far more surprising appeared: huge cells between 30 and 400 microns, unlike anything that had been clinically characterized.
These rare cells, though previously observed by oncologists, had never been explored in depth.
Creatv Bio’s now Chief Scientific Officer, Dr. Daniel L. Adams, investigated further. His research revealed that these unusual cells were macrophages that had engulfed tumor cells at the tumor site. It is a biological phenomenon never before leveraged for diagnostics. He named them Cancer-Associated Macrophage-like Cells (CAMLs).
CAMLs quickly proved extraordinary:
- They appear in all stages of cancer, from early to late.
- They are absent in healthy individuals.
- They contain comprehensive tumor material, including DNA, protein markers, and cellular debris.
- They grow significantly as they engulf more tumor content.
This discovery marked the beginning of Creatv Bio and the foundation of LifeTracDx®, a diagnostic blood test unlike any other in the market.
LifeTracDx®: A Multi-Purpose Diagnostic Platform
While many companies focus on established biomarkers like ctDNA, circulating RNA, protein markers, extracellular vesicles, or CTCs, Creatv Bio’s research unlocked an entirely new class of biomarkers. With more than 31 peer-reviewed publications and numerous patents, LifeTracDx® now supports a wide range of clinical applications.
1. Assessing Cancer Aggressiveness
By analyzing CAML size and morphology, clinicians can determine disease aggressiveness at any stage.
2. Early Determination of Treatment Response
LifeTracDx® can detect therapeutic response in as little as 30 days, far earlier than imaging, which typically requires visible tumor shrinkage.
3. Companion Diagnostics for Targeted Therapies
Because CAMLs absorb tumor cells, they retain full tumor-marker expression. Creatv has developed 50 companion diagnostic assays to match patients with the appropriate targeted drugs.
4. Companion Diagnostics for Immunotherapy
LifeTracDx® can assess PD-L1 expression directly from blood, thereby providing a non-invasive method for determining immunotherapy suitability.
5. Continuous Monitoring During Treatment
Changes in CAMLs, CTCs, and tumor markers can reveal early signs of resistance, often before imaging detects progression.
6. High-Quality Tumor DNA for Sequencing
Unlike fragmented ctDNA, CAMLs contain intact, unfragmented tumor DNA, enabling more accurate genomic analysis.
7. End-of-Treatment Evaluation
LifeTracDx® can help determine whether residual cancer is present after the completion of therapy.
8. Early Recurrence Detection
The test can reveal relapse earlier than imaging, enabling faster intervention.
These capabilities position Creatv Bio as a leader in the next generation of non-invasive cancer diagnostics.
A Case Study Demonstrating Real-World Impact
This success story shows how LifeTracDx® helps guide therapy choices, detect response early, and monitor cancer over time.
At baseline, the patient had very large CAMLs (~100 microns), indicating a poor prognosis. Companion diagnostic testing showed high pan-VEGF expression, so Pazopanib was prescribed.
By the second time point, CAMLs had decreased, showing the drug was working. At the third time point, CAMLs increased again (>100 microns), and LifeTracDx® revealed the reason:
- pan-VEGF had dropped to nearly zero, making Pazopanib ineffective
- PD-L1 had risen sharply, supporting a switch to immunotherapy
After switching treatments, CAMLs fell below 50 microns at the fourth time point, showing a strong response.
In short, LifeTracDx® enabled timely therapy adjustments that improved the patient’s outcome. Such dynamic monitoring has the potential to redefine personalized cancer care.
Challenges in a High-Impact Industry
While the science is strong, commercialization presents significant hurdles:
- Awareness gap among both oncologists and patients
- Regulatory complexity, given the large number of clinical applications across cancer types
- High FDA approval costs, especially for multi-cancer screening (estimated >$500 million)
Although LifeTracDx® has demonstrated exceptional sensitivity in early detection, the company is prioritizing diagnostics over screening due to the financial and regulatory barriers of large-scale cancer-screening trials.
Scaling, Strategy, and the Road Ahead
Creatv Bio has recently secured CLIA approval for its first test and is pursuing additional CLIA and CAP accreditations in the United States. The company is also preparing its first FDA submission.
Globally, Creatv holds strong patent protection and plans to expand through international strategic partnerships.
Over the next five years, the company anticipates:
- Multiple FDA approvals
- Wider adoption of CAML-based diagnostics
- Increased competition in blood-based cancer tests, though most competitors will continue relying on conventional biomarkers
With its unique approach and robust intellectual property, Creatv Bio is poised to become a major force in precision cancer diagnostics.
Guiding the Next Generation of Biotech Innovators
For aspiring entrepreneurs in biotechnology, the founder offers simple but profound advice:
Do not dismiss unexpected opportunities. Evaluate them. Explore them. They may lead somewhere transformative.
LifeTracDx® itself was born from two unexpected events:
- A microfabrication project was redirected when a client no longer needed the final product.
- The unexpected discovery of CAMLs while using an in-house filter.
Rather than staying narrowly focused, the team recognized opportunity in the unexpected, and turned it into a breakthrough platform.
Looking Toward 2026
Creatv Bio is currently analyzing progression-free survival and overall survival data from multiple clinical studies, while also identifying new diagnostic applications for CAMLs. These insights may expand LifeTracDx® into additional cancer types and therapeutic areas in the coming years.
About Creatv MicroTech
Creatv MicroTech’s journey reflects the power of scientific curiosity and adaptation. With the creation of Creatv Bio and the LifeTracDx® platform, the company has uncovered a new frontier in oncology: leveraging CAMLs to provide earlier, more accurate, and more actionable insights than traditional diagnostic methods.
As the biotech industry accelerates toward more personalized, precise, and minimally invasive solutions, Creatv Bio stands as a trailblazer, reshaping the possibilities of cancer care and helping clinicians make more informed decisions at every stage of the patient journey.
Company Details
- Company Name: Creatv MicroTech, Inc.
- Founding Year: 2000
- Office Locations: 4 locations; 2 business offices in Maryland, a clinical lab in New Jersey, a microfabrication lab in Chicago
- Official Website/ Research Website: CreatvBio.com
- Industry/ Sector: Cancer diagnostics (Medical)
Featured Leader’s Profiles
- Name of the First Featured Leader: Cha-Mei Tang, ScD
- Designation: Founder, President and CEO
- Brief Background & Experience:
Cha-Mei Tang is the founder, president and CEO of Creatv MicroTech, Inc. She earned her BS, MS and doctoral degrees from the Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Sciences at MIT. After graduation, she conducted theoretical physics research on relativistic electron beams and free electron lasers at the Naval Research Laboratory (NRL). She founded Creatv MicroTech after leaving NRL.
- Name of the Second Featured Leader: Daniel L Adams
- Designation: Chief Scientific Officer
- Brief Background & Experience:
Daniel Adams is the key figure in starting the Creatv Bio Division. He developed the assays, analyzed the data, and identified their clinical applications. He deserves a Nobel Prize.
Company Highlights
- Key Services/Offerings: Blood test for a large variety of cancer diagnostics
- Major Achievements or Recognitions (Company):
- Montgomery County Small Business Award – 2013
- Major Achievements or Recognitions (Cha-Mei Tang):
- Marquis Who’s Who – 2024
- Continental Who’s Who – 2025