ANGLE PLC (AIM:AGL, OTCQX:ANPCY) has announced the launch of the Portrait PD-L1 test that will be used to support cancer therapy studies.
Leveraging the company's Parsortix system, this advanced technology enables the harvesting of circulating tumour cells (CTCs) from a patient's blood, providing a less invasive and more dynamic way to monitor cancer progression and response to treatments.
It allows oncologists to assess the PD-L1 protein's presence on CTCs, a biomarker that plays a crucial role in the effectiveness of immunotherapy.
By evaluating this biomarker through a simple blood draw, the test offers a real-time snapshot of the tumour's characteristics without the need for a surgical biopsy.
This innovation arrives at a transformative time for cancer care, with the global market for PD-1 and PD-L1 immunotherapies — a class of drugs that the Portrait PD-L1 test is designed to complement — currently valued at US$36.9 billion.
With projections suggesting this market could triple to US$109.1 billion by 2032, the demand for precise, non-invasive diagnostic tools like ANGLE's looks well timed.
"Whilst immune checkpoint inhibitors have achieved remarkable progress in tumour treatment, the cost of treatment is high and currently the majority of patients fail to respond," said chief executive Andrew Newland.
"ANGLE's Portrait PD-L1 test provides accurate, repeatable, and precise PD-L1 identification on CTCs and hence has the potential to streamline patient selection and optimise PD-L1 monitoring for treatment response and disease progression throughout clinical studies."