ANGLE PLC’s (LON:AGL) Parsortix cancer detection system has been showcased by a number of customers at the world’s largest cancer research conference in Atlanta, US.
The University of Athens, Northwestern University and the National Tumour Institute of Milan all presented posters featuring Parsortix at the American Association for Cancer Research (AACR) conference.
Work by the University of Athens was particularly important, ANGLE said, as it demonstrated the “superior performance” of Parsortix in head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC) versus antibody-based approaches.
READ: ANGLE’s Parsortix liquid biopsy proving to be more than just a cancer detection device
Several cancer drugs, including Bristol Myers-Squibb’s Opdivo and Merck’s Keytruda, work best in patients with high levels of PD-L1 expression.
In the UoA’s studies, Parsortix was found to be twice as effective at identifying patients with PD-L1 expression.
From a group of 50, Parsortix identified nine with PD-L1 expression whereas the antibody-based test only identified four.
Around one in five patients typically respond to PD-L1 immunotherapies so the Parsortix result was consistent with expected detection levels.
“The multiple poster presentations by ANGLE and its customers at AACR demonstrate new potential applications for ANGLE's Parsortix system and further builds the third-party evidence that Parsortix is a market-leading CTC liquid biopsy solution,” said chief executive Andrew Newland.
“The successful detection of PD-L1 in head and neck cancer opens the potential for collaboration with leading pharma companies with FDA cleared immunotherapy drugs.”