Angle locks in $250,000 contract with Eisai

Liquid biopsy company Angle has locked in a $250,000 contract with global pharmaceutical company Eisai to deliver circulating tumour cell analysis in a pilot study.

Angle said on Tuesday that it will provide CTC analysis with its Portrait HER2 assay to assess breast cancer patients' HER2 (human epidermal growth factor receptor 2) status in a Phase II study.

The AIM-listed group highlighted that success in the pilot study also offered the potential for "multiple large-scale follow-up studies". HER2-low breast cancer accounts for 55% of all breast cancer cases, with analysts predicting that the global HER2+ breast cancer ADC market will reach $3.3bn per annum by 2030,

Chief executive Andrew Newland said: "The use of CTC biomarkers in clinical trials is a rapidly growing field enabling longitudinal monitoring of genomic, transcriptomic and proteomic changes. Angle's Portrait HER2 assay provides a way to evaluate HER2 status in patients where a tissue biopsy at the metastatic site either fails or is not feasible.

"We are delighted that Eisai is utilising our new HER2 assay for this study and believe that a successful pilot study will lead the way to major expansion of this line of our business going forward."

As of 0900 GMT, Angle shares were up 1.70% at 11.95p.

Reporting by Iain Gilbert at Sharecast.com