Success with Parsortix in Colorectal Cancer

RNS Number : 0859H

Angle PLC

05 June 2017

 

For immediate release

5 June 2017

ANGLE plc ("the Company")

SUCCESS WITH PARSORTIX IN COLORECTAL CANCER

Clinically relevant results presented at ASCO 2017 cancer conference

Demonstrates use of the Parsortix system to predict resistance to cancer drugs

ANGLE plc (AIM:AGL OTCQX:ANPCY), the specialist medtech company, is pleased to announce that researchers have presented successful results from their work using ANGLE's Parsortix system in colorectal cancer at the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) Annual Meeting 2017, in Chicago.

The study, undertaken by The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, represents the first ever analysis of meEGFR (arginine methylation of the epidermal growth factor receptor) status across a population of circulating tumour cells (CTCs) isolated from colorectal cancer patients being treated with EGFR inhibitors. meEGFR is already associated with a patient's likely response to EGFR inhibitors, a key drug class in the treatment of colorectal cancer. The object of the study was therefore to assess whether the presence of meEGFR biomarker, when found in CTCs, is predictive of an adverse duration of progression-free survival (PFS) amongst this treatment group.  

The results show that in a prospective study of 47 metastatic colorectal cancer patients, researchers were able to use the Parsortix system to harvest circulating tumour cells (CTCs) and were able to analyse these cells for the presence or absence of meEGFR.

The total number of CTCs was not correlated to PFS but the proportion of those CTCs that were positive for the meEGFR marker was found to be predictive: patients whose CTCs harvested by Parsortix had a higher proportion of meEGFR positive CTCs, had significantly shorter PFS compared to those patients whose CTCs had lower levels.

This study is a further demonstration of the effectiveness of Parsortix in enabling liquid biopsy analysis of patients' cancer through a simple blood test with the potential to provide clinically relevant information to advise treatment decisions. 

Dr Scott Kopetz, Associate Professor, Department of Gastrointestinal (GI) Medical Oncology, Division of Cancer Medicine, MD Anderson, commented:

"We have isolated CTCs from metastatic colorectal cancer patients' blood using the Parsortix system and then identified and assessed the CTCs for the presence of the meEGFR marker.  This could open the opportunity for a liquid biopsy biomarker for reduced efficacy from anti-EGFR treatments."

ANGLE Founder and Chief Executive, Andrew Newland, commented:

"This colorectal cancer study adds to the body of evidence driving adoption of Parsortix in the fast growing liquid biopsy market.  The ability to assess the patient's likely response to a particular drug as a companion diagnostic is a key element in the drive to provide precision medicine for patients saving money and improving treatment."

For further information:

ANGLE plc	01483 343434
Andrew Newland, Chief Executive Ian Griffiths, Finance Director
Cenkos Securities Stephen Keys (Nominated adviser), Steve Cox Russell Kerr (Sales)	020 7397 8900
WG Partners David Wilson Claes Spång	020 3705 9330
FTI Consulting Simon Conway, Mo Noonan, Stephanie Cuthbert Kimberly Ha (US)	020 3727 1000 001 212 850 5612

For Frequently Used Terms, please see the Company's website on http://www.angleplc.com/the-parsortix-system/glossary/

Notes for editors

About ANGLE plc     www.angleplc.com 

ANGLE is a specialist medtech company commercialising a disruptive platform technology that can capture cells circulating in blood, such as cancer cells, even when they are as rare in number as one cell in one billion blood cells, and harvest the cells for analysis.

ANGLE's cell separation technology is called the Parsortix^TM system and it enables a liquid biopsy (simple blood test) to be used to provide the cells of interest. Parsortix is the subject of granted patents in Europe, the United States, Canada, China, Japan and Australia and three extensive families of patents are being progressed worldwide. The system is based on a microfluidic device that captures live cells based on a combination of their size and compressibility. Parsortix has a CE Mark for Europe and FDA authorisation is in process for the United States. 

ANGLE has established formal collaborations with world-class cancer centres.  These Key Opinion Leaders are working to identify applications with medical utility (clear benefit to patients), and to secure clinical data that demonstrates that utility in patient studies.  Details are available here http://www.angleplc.com/the-company/collaborators/ 

The analysis of the cells that can be harvested from patient blood with ANGLE's Parsortix system has the potential to help deliver personalised cancer care offering profound improvements in clinical and health economic outcomes in the treatment and diagnosis of various forms of cancer.

The global increase in cancer to a 1 in 3 lifetime incidence is set to drive a multi-billion dollar clinical market. The Parsortix system is designed to be compatible with existing major medtech analytical platforms and to act as a companion diagnostic for major pharma in helping to identify patients that will benefit from a particular drug and then monitoring the drug's effectiveness.

As well as cancer, the Parsortix technology has the potential for deployment with several other important cell types in the future.

ANGLE stock trades on the AIM market of the London Stock Exchange under the ticker symbol AGL and in New York on the OTC-QX under the ticker symbol ANPCY. For further information please visit: www.angleplc.com

 

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