Funding roundup: GRAIL raises $390M for cancer liquid biopsy test
GRAIL, a startup developing cancer liquid biopsy tests, raised a $390 million series D round. Read more about which companies raised funding this week.
Molecular diagnostics is the future of cancer care — if we make it user friendly
Molecular diagnostics companies have laid the foundation for nothing short of a revolution in cancer care — it’s time for the medtech sector to develop tools to make genomic testing accessible to the masses.
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A Personalized Approach to Medication Nonadherence
At the Abarca Forward conference earlier this year, George Van Antwerp, managing director at Deloitte, discussed how social determinants of health and a personalized member experience can improve medication adherence and health outcomes.
Karius, using liquid biopsy to detect infectious diseases, raises $165M in Series B round
The SoftBank Vision Fund led the round, which the company said would be used t expand its reach and support future clinical studies.
Foundation Medicine touts concordance ahead of FDA ruling on liquid biopsy test
The company filed for FDA approval of the FoundationOne Liquid test at the end of December. Data from a clinical trial presented at an October conference showed the test had a strong ability to detect a genetic driver mutation in lung cancer.
Investors pump $20M into Singapore-based liquid-biopsy company
The money will be used in part to establish a CLIA-certified a lab in the San Francisco area that would allow for speedier results to its U.S. customers.
Liquid biopsy developer OncoCell MDx raises $22.2M in Series B round
The company plans to launch its prostate cancer test next year and has several papers it will to submit to journals in the next four to six months.
Using Informed Awareness to Transform Care Coordination and Improve the Clinical and Patient Experience
This eBook, in collaboration with Care Logistics, details how hospitals and health systems can facilitate more effective decision-making by operationalizing elevated awareness.
Another study shows liquid biopsy can detect cancer immunotherapy biomarker
The study, by Personal Genome Diagnostics and academic researchers, was able to predict responses to checkpoint inhibitor therapy in patients with MSI-H and high tumor mutational burden.
Study finds Guardant’s liquid biopsy adept at detecting biomarker used by Merck immunotherapy drug
The study, by US and Korean researchers, found Guardant360's detection of MSI-H/dMMR "highly concordant" with that of standard tissue biopsy, including in a subset of gastric cancer patients who responded to immunotherapy.
Freenome nabs $160M to advance blood-based colorectal cancer test
The South San Francisco company intends to use the funding to launch its pivotal trial for its blood-based colorectal cancer screening and submit its test for parallel review for CMS coverage.
In blood tests for early cancer detection, low false-positive rates can be a big deal
In data at the ASCO meeting last week, Grail showed a 1 percent false-positive rate. While that number seems likely to go down, even such a low rate can make a significant difference for patients.
BioLabs Pegasus Park Cultivates Life Science Ecosystem
Gabby Everett, the site director for BioLabs Pegasus Park, offered a tour of the space and shared some examples of why early-stage life science companies should choose North Texas.
Grail’s liquid biopsy test shows high sensitivity in early cancer detection
The company plans to present early data in a poster on Saturday showing no more than 1 percent of tests generated false-positive results across 12 solid tumor and blood cancers.
Liquid biopsy firm Thrive launches with $110M Series A round
The company has a 10,000-patient prospective trial with Geisinger fully enrolled to test CancerSEEK, a test developed at Johns Hopkins University.
Guardant Health study shows liquid biopsy picking up more mutations, delivering faster results
An investment analyst wrote that physicians see the results as potentially ushering in a "liquid-first" testing paradigm, but the liquid biopsy market is likely to include several or even more than a dozen major players.
Report: Diagnostics unicorn Grail considering an IPO in the US, possibly next year
Bloomberg had reported in February that the biotechnology startup company was considering a $500 million fund raise for a listing in Hong Kong, but reconsidered due to market conditions.
Precision medicine means nobody is just ‘average’
Prostate cancer survivor Bryce Olson says genomic sequencing shows the way forward in cancer treatment, rather than the one-size-fits-all approach.