ANGLE plc – exclusive worldwide option over Maegakaryocyte Intellectual Property

ANGLE signs option over patent applications  filed on Barts Cancer Institute’s discovery of megakaryocytes’ role in cancer

Megakaryocytes’ presence in prostate cancer is linked to patient survival; such cells potentially have role in all cancer types

ANGLE plc (AIM:AGL OTCQX:ANPCY), a world-leading liquid biopsy company, is delighted to announce that it has signed an option agreement with Queen Mary University of London (QMUL) for an exclusive worldwide licence over the use of its megakaryocyte intellectual property.

As announced on 15 June 2017, QMUL published research in Clinical Cancer Research using ANGLE’s Parsortix system showing that the number of megakaryocyte cells in the blood of prostate cancer patients correlates closely with increased patient survival. This is the first time the presence of these cells in patient blood has been shown to be connected to cancer prognosis.  

Investigation of megakaryocytes in patient blood opens up the potential for a whole new area for cancer diagnostics and, at present, ANGLE’s patented Parsortix system is the only system that has demonstrated the capability of harvesting megakaryocytes.  

QMUL have filed two patent applications in relation to these findings which are being prosecuted worldwide.  ANGLE has signed a two-year option to an exclusive worldwide licence to these patents covering any medical therapeutic, diagnostic, or prophylactic application. ANGLE has agreed to cover the costs of prosecution.  

Through this deal, ANGLE now has intellectual property protection over the upstream cell capture technology (its existing Parsortix IP) and the downstream megakaryocyte analysis technology (via the option agreement announced today). Megakaryocyte analysis may provide medical insight in multiple cancer types and Barts Cancer Institute, which is part of QMUL, is investigating other cancer types to substantiate this.

The Parsortix system has been shown to be capable of harvesting for analysis not only mesenchymal CTCs, which are linked to a poor outcome, but also megakaryocytes, which are linked to a favourable patient outcome. Combining these two factors may provide new insights into patient condition.

ANGLE Founder and Chief Executive, Andrew Newland, commented: 

This deal further strengthens ANGLE’s intellectual property position in the fast-emerging liquid biopsy market. Use of the Parsortix system is driving new discoveries by key opinion leaders and customers and ANGLE is the obvious partner to drive their commercialisation so we expect to see other similar developments over time continually strengthening the Company’s position in the market.

Michele Hill-Perkins, Head of Technology Transfer Biopharma at QMUL Barts Queen Mary Innovation Ltd, commented:

We believe the patents on the role of megakaryocytes in patient blood as a favourable prognostic biomarker has the potential to open up new avenues of research in the fight against cancer.  We are delighted to have signed this deal with ANGLE to progress their commercialisation for the benefit of patients.

Dr Yong-Jie Lu, Reader in Medical Oncology at Barts Cancer Institute, and the Principal Investigator for the megakaryocytes discovery commented:

We believe megakaryocytes in patient blood may play a key role in the body’s immune response to all solid cancer types not just prostate cancer and we are currently investigating this in several other cancer types.