ANGLE confirms recent positive Parsortix tests

Liquid biopsy company ANGLE announced on Friday that the University of Southern California’s Norris Comprehensive Cancer Center has presented results of extensive work with its ‘Parsortix’ system at the San Antonio Breast Cancer Symposium, detailing how the system could be used to obtain comparable gene expression information from a simple blood test in place of an invasive solid tissue biopsy of a metastatic site.

The AIM-traded firm said USC had made a direct comparison of extensive gene expression information from the biopsy of the metastatic site with that from a blood test processed with the Parsortix system.

Information from the blood test using the Parsortix system "did not show significantly different patterns of expression" compared to the invasive biopsy of the metastatic site.

It said 66 clinically-actionable genes in seven different signalling pathways were measured, addressing the key areas that clinicians currently investigate.

ANGLE said it was working towards an FDA clearance of the Parsortix system in metastatic breast cancer, with the required analytical and clinical studies targeted for completion by 30 June next year.

The company explained that it was seeking to become the first company ever to receive FDA clearance for a medical device to harvest cancer cells from patient blood for subsequent analysis.

It claimed the “groundbreaking” work presented by USC at San Antonio demonstrated the importance of being able to harvest and analyse those cells from patient blood.

“USC's groundbreaking work with ANGLE's Parsortix system over the last two years has delivered convincing data that a simple blood test may be able to provide all the clinical information traditionally provided by the invasive, expensive solid biopsy,” said ANGLE founder and chief executive Andrew Newland.

“This is great news for ANGLE as it gives a clear guide to the importance of being able to harvest and analyse these cells from patient blood.”