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Angle plc, a world-leading liquid biopsy company, announced that its first bespoke assay development customer, Artios Pharma (Artios), has signed a new contract to utilise two DNA Damage Response assays developed by Angle in a phase 1 clinical trial expected to commence shortly.
Artios is a clinical-stage biotech company pioneering the development of small molecule therapeutics that target the DNA Damage Response (DDR) process in order to treat patients with a broad range of cancers. Artios has an extensive DDR focused pipeline and strategic partnerships with global pharma companies.
Artios selected Angle to develop immunofluorescence (IF) assays using its Parsortix system to detect two specific biomarkers expressed on circulating tumour cells (CTCs). The expression of the two biomarkers indicate the amount of DNA damage caused in a cell.
The markers can be observed in tumour tissue, but the availability of tumour tissue biopsy material is limited and cannot be repeated, emphasising the utility of CTCs obtained via liquid biopsy as an alternative means of assessing DNA damage. Artios is utilising longitudinal monitoring of expression of these biomarkers in CTCs harvested using the Parsortix system to assess the pharmacodynamic effects and treatment response to new DDR drugs.
The successful development of these DDR assays (high levels of both sensitivity and specificity were achieved) was technically challenging and a significant achievement. Artios will now utilise the two assays in a Phase 1 clinical trial scheduled to begin shortly and expected to complete around the end of 2024. Angle anticipates that these assays could be employed in larger, later stage clinical trials for the same compound and potentially in further trials for additional compounds in the customer's pipeline.
Angle can offer this CTC solution to the growing number of drug developers exploring the DDR pathway in drug trials. There are an estimated 105 drugs targeting the DDR pathway in development, with 123,000 patients currently enrolled in active clinical trials (clinicaltrials.gov). In 2020 the global value of DDR therapeutics was US$ 3.5 billion and is expected to grow to US$ 24.8bn by 2030 with a CAGR of 21.3%.
Angle founder and chief executive, Andrew Newland, commented: "We are delighted to have successfully developed these high-performance assays for Artios, a leader in the fast-growing field of DDR therapeutics. This new contract for clinical trial services again represents significant repeat business from an existing customer and we believe there is potential to expand the relationship further. These new assays also provide an important addition to our pharma services menu where our unique solution has already generated a high level of interest from new potential customers."
Artios is on a mission to kill cancer by exploiting DNA damage repair (DDR) responses that are leveraged by cancer cells to promote their survival.
Angle is a world leading liquid biopsy company with sample-to-answer solutions. Angle's proven patent protected circulating tumour cell (CTC) harvesting technology is known as the Parsortix system.
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