ANGLE is a specialist medical technology company with key products in cancer diagnostics and fetal health.
The cancer diagnostic product is designed to capture circulating tumour cells in blood without the need to use antibodies. The patented Parsortix separation device under development is simple, effective and affordable and offers major benefits in three key areas:
(1) Screening patients for cancer
(2) Monitoring patient response to chemotherapy
(3) Monitoring patients in remission to guard against relapse
ANGLE also owns a successful specialist technology consultancy and a maturing portfolio including a major investment in a business with a unique computer graphics technology platform.
ANGLE's improved deal with Origio and fundraiser kick-start EmbryoSure development
ANGLE (LON:AGL), the intellectual property group, this morning unveiled a new and improved deal to commercialise its potentially revolutionary embryo selection technology for IVF.
And alongside the agreement between subsidiary Novocellus and Danish firm Origio, the group unveiled a £1.2 million cash call, which will help fund the development of the EmbryoSure selection system.
The cash will also be used to take the company’s lead product, a cancer screening device developed by its Parsortix business, to the stage where it can be sold to the research market.
This will then provide an early, but much needed source of revenue ahead of full commercialisation of the cancer screening device.
The cash was raised via a direct subscription and a placing of stock at 70 pence a share, a 13 per cent discount to last night’s close.
ANGLE said EmbryoSure trials will begin shortly in order to launch the product by mid-2014.
There are two elements to these trials. A retrospective investigation will look at the benefits to the IVF selection process had EmbryoSure been used to assess pregnancy.
In the second study the technology will be used to select embryos for transfer. It will consider the effect on pregnancy and measure the success rate.
Recognising the increased costs of the trials, ANGLE has agreed to pay more towards the trials, with the maximum contribution being £500,000.
ANGLE’s holding in Novocellus will increase by 10 percentage points to 92 per cent.
It will receive £4.5 million in milestone payments and a 25 per cent royalty payment if and when EmbryoSure goes on sale.
ANGLE founder and chief executive, Andrew Newland, said: "We are delighted that the EmbryoSure trials are now progressing without delay and continue to believe that EmbryoSure has the potential to make a major impact in the IVF market."
The science behind the product was developed by the University of York, and it tests the amino acid profile of the culture medium used to carry the fertilised egg.
“We believe EmbryoSure will identify with 95 per cent confidence which one of the embryos is likely to be a top quartile embryo,” said Newland in a recent interview.
Currently there is no such means of identifying the best eggs.
Novocellus reckons EmbryoSure has the potential to increase pregnancy rates by a quarter and possibly by as much as 40 per cent.
As well as increasing pregnancy success rates, this has two other major benefits. The first is cost. If as touted EmbryoSure reduces the number of cycles of IVF required to get pregnant, the overall IVF cost will fall.
The second is less obvious and relates to the push from inside the healthcare system towards single embryo transfer instead of double embryo transfer.
Having a way of spotting these “top quartile” eggs would aid the transition to single embryo transfer.
“We believe there is going to be a regulatory drive behind our product,” Newland added.
Novocellus is partnered with Origio, a Danish firm, which sells the culture medium used in IVF.
In a separate announcement today, the group posted a first half loss of £1.8 million. Its cash balance as at the October 31 was £1.2 million.
However it was a strong period for the group, its developments and in particular the progress of Parsortix.
