ANGLE PLC (AIM:AGL, OTCQX:ANPCY) has secured a European patent for its CellKeep slide, with US intellectual property protection from the US set to follow soon.
This innovative device reduces cell loss by over 70% during the microscopy analysis of circulating tumour cells (CTCs), a common challenge in clinical oncology and pharmaceutical research.
This attrition is particularly impactful as CTCs, critical for cancer diagnosis and research, are typically few in number in blood samples.
ANGLE's solution not only minimises cell degradation but also protects their structural integrity, a factor crucial for accurate analysis and research outcomes.
The technology integrates seamlessly with ANGLE’s liquid biopsy system Parsortix, which is designed to efficiently capture intact and viable CTCs from blood samples.
This combination ensures that cells remain live and well-preserved until they are transferred to slides for biomarker labelling- a process where traditional methods often result in over 50% cell loss.
Moreover, the CellKeep slide has demonstrated its utility in recent analytical studies involving cancer patient blood samples.
When compared to standard microscope slides, the CellKeep slide showed a significant increase in the detection and preservation of CTCs, enhancing the reliability of subsequent analytical processes.
"Following the harvesting of rare CTCs from patient blood samples using the Parsortix system, the CellKeep slide and associated methodology will significantly improve the capture of CTCs for microscopy-based biomarker assays and will enhance sensitivity across ANGLE's assay portfolio," said ANGLE chief executive Andrew Newland.
"This is a significant technology advancement for the CTC liquid biopsy field and another step towards enabling biomarker-guided precision medicine for people with cancer."