Angle Regulatory News (AGL)

ANGLE plc ("the Company")

PARSORTIXTM SYSTEM ENABLES MOLECULAR DETECTION AND CHARACTERISATION OF CIRCULATING TUMOUR CELLS WHERE OTHER APPROACHES FAIL

Results demonstrate that harvested CTCs can be analysed without further purification steps

Study published in eighth peer reviewed paper detailing ParsortixTM use

ANGLE plc (AIM:AGL OTCQX:ANPCY), a world-leading liquid biopsy company, today announces that its ParsortixTM system is the subject of a further peer-reviewed publication in the journal Oncotarget, detailing work undertaken by Prof. Robert Zeillinger's Molecular Oncology Group at the Medical University of Vienna (Vienna). Prof. Zeillinger is a key opinion leader in the field of liquid biopsies use in oncology.

Prof Zeillinger's group developed and tested protocols to allow the molecular characterisation of the circulating tumour cells (CTCs) and residual blood cells harvested by the ParsortixTM system without the need to separate out the CTCs. This was only possible because the ParsortixTM system provides high purity cells with very efficient removal of white blood cells. With alternative approaches for CTC enrichment such as density gradient centrifugation, this has not been possible, as high levels of contaminating white blood cells remain with the CTCs captured.

Vienna had identified specific genes which were expressed preferentially on CTCs earlier and, evaluating a panel of such genes, were able to get positive results in 95% of primary (i.e. localised disease that has not spread) gynaecological cancer patient samples, 100% of recurrent gynaecological cancer patient samples and 92% metastatic breast cancer patient samples.

This workflow established by Prof. Zeillinger's group provides the opportunity not only for use in detection of cancer but also the molecular characterisation of CTCs for the purpose of assessing which drugs may be most effective for a patient during their disease progression.

The publication is available at https://angleplc.com/library/publications/

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

"In the study we have demonstrated that ANGLE's ParsortixTM system addresses key limitations of other approaches for CTC liquid biopsy through the combination of its sensitivity in isolating circulating cancer cells in blood and the high purity of the harvested cells enabling their direct molecular analysis."

ANGLE Founder and Chief Executive, Andrew Newland, commented:

"This published study further demonstrates that the ParsortixTM system outperforms other approaches for harvesting circulating tumour cells from the blood of cancer patients in the fast emerging liquid biopsy market. The capability to harvest cancer cells with high purity to allow direct molecular analysis of the cells strongly differentiates our system, which should facilitate adoption in clinical practice."

For further information ANGLE:

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 world leading liquid biopsy company with sample to answer solutions. ANGLE's proven patent protected platforms include an epitope-independent circulating tumor cell (CTC) harvesting technology and a downstream analysis system for cost effective, highly multiplexed analysis of nucleic acids and proteins.

ANGLE's cell separation technology is called the ParsortixTM 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, India, 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's analysis technology for proteins and nucleic acids of all types is based on a patented flow through array technology. It provides for highly multiplexed, rapid and sensitive capture of targets from a wide variety of sample types. A proprietary chemistry allows for the capture and amplification of over 100 biomarkers simultaneously in a single reaction. These technologies can be combined to provide fully automated, sample to answer results in both centralized laboratory and point of use cartridge formats. It is ideal for measuring gene expression and other markers directly from Parsortix harvests.

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 ParsortixTM 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 ParsortixTM 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 ParsortixTM technology has the potential for deployment with several other important cell types in the future. ANGLE biomarker analysis platforms are adaptable to measure protein and nucleic acid biomarkers across the full spectrum of disease applications.

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