Collaboration with Medical University of Vienna

RNS Number : 8605R

Angle PLC

17 September 2014

 



For immediate release

17 September 2014

ANGLE plc ("the Company")

OVARIAN CANCER COLLABORATION WITH THE MEDICAL UNIVERSITY OF VIENNA

ANGLE plc (AIM: AGL), the specialist medtech company, is pleased to announce it has signed a collaboration agreement with the Ludwig Boltzmann Cluster 'Translational Oncology' located at the Medical University of Vienna to investigate the clinical use of the Parsortix system for ovarian cancer. 

The collaboration is led by the head of the interdisciplinary Molecular Oncology Group at Medical University of Vienna, Professor Robert Zeillinger.

The Medical University of Vienna is one of the leading research institutions in Europe. Prof Zeillinger has 30 years' experience in the field of molecular oncology, experimental oncology, gynaecologic oncology, and was initiator and coordinator of the EU FP6 project OVCAD (ovarian cancer diagnosing a silent killer). He is author and co-author of more than 200 scientific publications and holds several patents.

The Molecular Oncology Group is an active member of EUTROC (European Network for Translational Research in Ovarian Cancer), which brings together all the leading ovarian cancer experts in Europe and is leading a number of Phase I and Phase II clinical trials for new drugs to address ovarian cancer. The Group is also a member of TOC (International Tumour Bank Ovarian Cancer Initiative), where Prof Zeillinger serves as a member of the scientific board.

Furthermore, Prof Zeillinger and his team are taking the lead on 'companion diagnostics' in the major GANNET53 Europe-wide multi-centre ovarian cancer clinical trial to test a new drug strategy for chemotherapy resistant ovarian cancer with Phase I and Phase II trials planned for 2015.

Prof Zeillinger and his team are evaluating the Parsortix system for its efficacy at capturing circulating tumour cells (CTCs) from ovarian cancer patient blood with the ambition of using the system in combination with RNA markers for CTCs that have already been developed by the team. There is particular interest in the Parsortix system as it is epitope-independent and does not use an antibody-based capture process, which is known to be limited in its effectiveness for ovarian cancer, since most of ovarian cancer CTCs do not express the epithelial cell surface marker EpCAM which is widely used for CTC capturing. 

ANGLE is strongly focused on establishing the use of the Parsortix system in clinical practice.  To achieve this, the top priority is the establishment of collaborations with key opinion leaders at world class research 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.  ANGLE believes this is the optimal approach for unlocking the multi-billion dollar worldwide market available to the Company and its potential strategic partners.  

Professor Zeillinger, Head of the Molecular Oncology Group at The Medical University of Vienna, commented:

"Existing antibody-based systems do not work well with ovarian cancer so we are very pleased to be working with ANGLE and the Parsortix system. Some 67,000 women are diagnosed with ovarian cancer Europe-wide each year and 42,000 die annually of this disease. A major treatment obstacle is the fact that although about 75% of patients respond to first-line chemotherapy, most of these patients relapse and eventually die of the disease. We hope that by investigating the CTCs of patients, using ANGLE's Parsortix system, we can identify ways to improve the treatment offered to these patients."

ANGLE Founder and Chief Executive, Andrew Newland, commented:

"Professor Zeillinger and his team are world leaders in gynaecological cancers.  Ovarian cancer has a particularly poor outcome as there is little targeted therapy available.  We hope that, using the Parsortix system to harvest CTCs, Prof Zeillinger and his team may be able to use targeted drugs more effectively and improve the overall outcome for ovarian cancer patients in the future."

For further information:

ANGLE plc	01483 685830
Andrew Newland, Chief Executive Ian Griffiths, Finance Director
Cenkos Securities Stephen Keys, Dr Christopher Golden (Nominated adviser) Andy Roberts, Christian Hobart (Sales)	020 7397 8900
Buchanan Mark Court, Fiona Henson, Sophie Cowles	020 7466 5000

Explanation of Frequently Used Terms in connection with the Parsortix system

Term	Explanation
Biopsy	Process by which cancer cells are removed from the tumour for molecular analysis
Capture	Process for capturing target cells from sample
Capture efficiency	Proportion of target cells captured
CD45	The CD45 antibody recognises the human CD45 antigen, also known as the leukocyte common antigen.  WBC are CD45+ whereas CTCs are CD45-.  Staining with CD45 often used as a negative confirmation that CTCs are not WBC
Cell-free DNA	Genomic DNA found in the plasma
Cell labelling	Technique involving the staining of target cells with fluorescent and/or chromogenic markers for cell identification
Cell lines	Cultured cells
CE Mark	Regulatory authorisation for the sale of products for clinical use in the European Union
Circulating tumour cell	Cancer cell that is circulating in the patient blood
CTC	Circulating tumour cell
CTC labelling	CTCs are often labelled with three markers and are formally identified as CTCs if they are CK+, CD45-, DAPI+
CK	Cytokeratin
CK+	A cell positive for the presence of cytokeratin protein or mRNA with the presence of distinct cytokeratins often used to identify epithelial cells
Clinical application	Use in treating patients
Clinical samples	Patient samples usually blood
Clinical use	Use in treating patients
Cultured cells	Cultured cells grown in the laboratory from human-derived cells used for experimental work
Cytokeratin	Cytokeratins are family of intracytoplasmic cytoskeleton proteins with members  showing tissue specific expression
DAPI	A nuclear stain that is often used to identify the nucleus in a cell.
DEPArray™	A commercial single cell isolation system
DNA	Deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) the molecule that encodes the genetic instructions used in the development and functioning of all known living organisms and many viruses
Downstream technologies	Technologies used to undertake molecular analysis of harvested cells after the separation has taken place
EGFR	The epidermal growth factor receptor a signalling molecule which is typically present on the cell surface and can cell activity including cell proliferation. Mutations in EGFR or deregulation have been associated with a number of cancers including ~30% of all epithelial cancers
Enrichment	Generic term for concentrating target cells or molecules in a starting heterogeneous mixture
EpCAM	The EpCAM protein is found spanning the membrane that surrounds epithelial cells, where it is involved in cell adhesion
EpCAM+ cells	Cells that express EpCAM.  CTCs can be either EpCAM+ or EpCAM-
Epithelial cells	Cells that line the surfaces and cavities of the body
Epithelial CTCs	CTCs that are epithelial often based on EpCAM+
Epithelial-mesenchymal transition	Process by which epithelial cells lose their cell polarity and cell-cell adhesion, and gain migratory and invasive properties to become mesenchymal cells. EMT is thought to occur as part of the initiation of metastasis and is often responsible for cancer progression
EMT	Epithelial-mesenchymal transition
FDA	U.S. Food and Drug Administration responsible for authorised medical products in the United States
FDA 510(k)	A 510(k) is a premarket submission made to FDA to demonstrate that the device to be marketed is at least as safe and effective, that is, substantially equivalent, to a legally marketed device that is not subject to Premarket Approval. Submitters must compare their device to one or more similar legally marketed devices and make and support their substantial equivalency claims
Genome	Genetic material of an organism. The genome includes both protein coding and non-coding sequences
Harvest	Process for recovering captured cells from the separation system to allow molecular analysis
Harvest efficiency	Proportion of target cells harvested
Harvest purity	The number of target cells (such as CTCs) in the harvest as a proportion of the WBC. The minimum purity from which downstream analysis is possible is 0.5%.  Analysis of one target cell therefore requires no more than 200 WBC be in the harvest
HER2	A member of the epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR/ERBB) family. Amplification or overexpression of HER2 has been shown to play an important role in the development and progression of certain aggressive types of breast cancer. In recent years the protein has become an important biomarker and target of therapy for ~30% of breast cancer patients
HNV	Healthy normal volunteer
HT29	Cultured colorectal cancer cell line
In-cassette labelling or in-situ labelling	CTC labelling for cell identification undertaken inside the separation system
KRAS	A signalling molecule frequently mutated in the development of many cancers
Leukocytes	White blood cells
Liquid biopsy	Term used for the process of obtaining cancer cells (or cell-free DNA) from a blood sample.  Unlike solid biopsy, liquid biopsy is non-invasive and repeatable.
Mesenchymal CTCs	CTCs generally lacking epithelial markers with mesenchymal features
Metastasis	Spread of a cancer from one site to another
Molecular analysis	Analysis of DNA, RNA and protein often used to determine the mutational status of a patient
mRNA	Messenger RNA used to direct the synthesis of proteins
NSCLC	Non Small Cell Lung Cancer
Off-chip labelling	CTC labelling for cell identification of harvested cells undertaken outside the separation system
Paired samples	Two related samples often used to compare different systems
Personalised cancer care	Treating a patient individually based on their personal data often including mutational and disease status
Plasma	Pale-yellow liquid component of blood obtained following removal of cells
Pre-labelled cell lines	Cells which are labelled often with a fluorescent label to facilitate identification during analysis or enrichment
RNA	Ribonucleic acid performs multiple vital roles in the coding, decoding, regulation, and expression of genes. Together with DNA, RNA comprises the nucleic acids, which, along with proteins, constitute the three major macromolecules essential for all known forms of life
Separation	Term used for processing of a sample through the Parsortix system
Single cell analysis	Extraction of a single target cell from the harvest for analysis
Solid biopsy	Standard process for surgically excising (cutting out) cells from a solid tumour when that tumour is accessible.
Spiked cell experiments	Experiments where cultured cells are added (spiked) to HNV blood to assess the capture and harvest efficiency of the system
WBC	White blood cells
WGA	Whole genome amplification
Whole genome amplification	Method for amplification of an entire genome necessary for the picogram amounts of genomic DNA present in a single cell

 

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