SMALL CAP IDEA: Angle creates new cancer diagnostic technology
Andrew Newland and his team at Angle have achieved something unique for a small-cap healthcare company — they have developed a cancer diagnostic technology from first principles and brought it to the brink of commercial success.
A recent fundraiser that added £9.3million to the coffers is expected to help the business reach cash flow break-even by the end of next year.
This success is backed by three deals with two large pharmaceutical companies, giving Angle three opportunities to generate significant revenues as the contracts progress through the trial stages.
It has teamed up with AstraZeneca and Japan’s Eisai with both essentially funding the product development phase for cancer assays.
Achievement: Healthcare company Angle has developed a cancer diagnostic technology from first principles and brought it to the brink of commercial success
Deeper dive
Angle is the inventor of Parsortix, a liquid biopsy technology that has received FDA approval for use in breast cancer—the first and only such device to achieve this for its intended use.
Parsortix captures circulating tumour cells (CTCs) from a single blood draw, recovering intact, living cancer cells.
This is crucial for understanding and treating the disease, as these CTCs are involved in cancer spread.
By capturing the cells involved in metastasis, Parsortix allows for a detailed analysis of the disease's current state.
Researchers can examine DNA, RNA, protein expression, and cell morphology, providing a comprehensive understanding that can be repeated as often as needed, which is impossible with traditional methods.
In contrast, standard cancer diagnostics rely on tissue biopsies, which are invasive and rapidly become out of date as they cannot be easily repeated.
After surgeries like mastectomies, there are no remaining cells to analyse for ongoing monitoring.
Advantage Parsortix
This is a significant drawback, as cancer evolves over time, and understanding its current status is crucial for effective treatment.
The liquid biopsy industry has up until now focused on the analysis of circulating tumour DNA (ctDNA) from blood samples.
However, ctDNA consists of fragments of dead cancer cells mixed with other cell debris, offering limited DNA information only. RNA, protein and cell morphology cannot be assessed.
In short, this ctDNA material does not provide insights critical for a full understanding of cancer's behaviour.
Moreover, studies indicate that ctDNA can be present in individuals without active cancer, complicating interpretation.
“You will not get the complete picture of cancer evolution if you are starting with a partial sample of fragments of dead cells,” says CEO Newland.
Advancing analysis
Angle is advancing its cancer analysis capabilities by developing assays related to protein assessment, critical for targeting specific drugs.
Currently, the company is working on assays for HER2 in breast cancer and DNA damage response in multiple cancers and has begun developing a test for prostate cancer receptors.
The HER2 assay will be a critical component in the development of antibody-drug conjugates (ADCs), highly targeted treatments that attach to cancer cells and release their therapeutic payload, minimizing side effects.
Partner Eisai has earmarked $2billion to develop next-generation HER2 ADC treatments. As part of a pilot study, Angle is being paid $250,000 to evaluate its assay to measure HER2 expression to identify patients who will benefit from the treatment.
Follow-up studies
This initial success could lead to multiple large-scale follow-on studies, generating significant revenue as drug candidates progress through clinical trials.
The first of two Angle collaborations with AstraZeneca focuses on DNA damage response (DDR).
Cancer cells are adept at repairing themselves, so a whole new generation of treatments are being developed to block the repair pathway to tackle the disease.
And Angle is lending its support to effort. Under the £150,000 AZ deal, Angle is enhancing its existing DDR assay to include assessment of CTC micronuclei.
A second agreement with AstraZeneca involves developing an androgen receptor (AR) detection assay for prostate cancer studies, valued at £550,000.
Financial savings
The financial impact of using assays to guide clinical trials is significant, given the $1.5billion cost of developing new drugs.
Optimising the process or reducing the failure rate can save tens, if not hundreds, of millions of dollars.
“There’s a big financial impetus for them [the big drug companies] to go down this [testing] route, it saves a lot of money, and will make their drugs much more effective” says Newland.
The deals with AstraZeneca and Esai are just the beginning. Angle is in discussions with 11 potential new customers, including six household-name pharmaceutical companies, Newland reveals.
For now, Angle is focused on successfully developing its assays for its two major customers.
Analysts reckon success could pave the way for phase II clinical trials, potentially generating between £1.2million and £3.6million per trial.
The figures jump to £15million to £45million for a phase III clinical trial and could reach up to £100million per year if a companion diagnostic is approved, the City’s number crunchers suggest.
The opportunity for Angle is significant, supporting the expectation of cash break-even next year as cash burn reduces to around £1million a month.
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