ANGLE plc announced breakthrough results from DNA molecular analysis of cancer patient blood samples that provide a unique insight into the progression of each patient's cancer and how this may be treated. Expansion of the Parsortix system downstream analysis into DNA molecular analysis utilising leading third party Next Generation Sequencing (NGS) systems has been a longstanding objective for ANGLE and the results now achieved will allow ANGLE to expand both its product sales and pharma services offerings. ANGLE has developed sample-to-answer solutions for real-time NGS DNA analysis of both ctDNA (fragments of DNA released mainly by dying cells) and CTCs (living cancer cells) from a single tube of patient blood.

Results announced come from forty-seven patient samples in breast, lung, prostate and ovarian cancers analysed for both ctDNA and CTC-DNA using a pan-cancer panel run on an Illumina NGS system. Widely accepted actionable DNA variants (cancer mutations) were identified in CTCs that were not present in the ctDNA from the same blood draw in 70% of breast cancer patient samples, 70% of lung cancer patient samples and 60% of ovarian cancer patient samples. Furthermore, the actionable variants identified in the CTCs that were not present in the ctDNA included variants targeted by widely used FDA approved drugs for cancer care.

ANGLE believes that molecular profiling of CTC-DNA alongside ctDNA from the same patient blood sample has the potential to revolutionise the way that cancer is treated. Ultimately, such combined profiling may enable oncologists through routine repeat blood tests to track the clonal evolution of the patient's cancer, informing on treatment decisions, monitoring response to treatment, highlighting drug resistance mechanisms, and signalling disease progression. This will serve to improve patient outcomes and to focus healthcare expenditure by supporting the best therapy choices and maximising the likelihood that treatment will be successful.

ANGLE will start using the clinical results announced to support the offer of sample-to-answer DNA molecular solutions to pharma services customers using the combined CTC-DNA and ctDNA analysis. ANGLE will also be working with key opinion leaders (KOLs) and clinicians to expedite the clinical adoption of the combined molecular profiling approach, including the formal establishment of performance under analytical conditions, and through carefully designed clinical studies to build on the promising patient cohort data presented.