MENLO PARK, Calif., January 11, 2021 \u2014 GRAIL, Inc., a healthcare company whose mission is to detect cancer early, today announced collaborations with global biopharmaceutical companies Amgen (NASDAQ:AMGN), AstraZeneca (LSE\/STO\/Nasdaq: AZN), and Bristol Myers Squibb (NYSE: BMY) to evaluate GRAIL\u2019s methylation-based technology for the detection of minimal residual disease (MRD).<\/p>\n
Cancer MRD testing is used in clinical and research applications to detect the presence or absence of residual disease. Many MRD tests available today for solid tumors require tissue samples and development of patient-specific assays, which contributes to longer turnaround times and potential delay in treatment decisions. GRAIL\u2019s targeted methylation platform could enable a blood-based MRD detection assay for solid tumors that perform comparably to bespoke tissue-based assays, while reducing complexity and processing times.<\/p>\n
\u201cGRAIL has developed and validated a novel approach to detect early cancer signals in blood and now we are excited to collaborate with leading companies Amgen, AstraZeneca, and Bristol Myers Squibb to evaluate the benefits of using our technology to find minimal residual disease after treatment or to detect early recurrent cancers,\u201d said Joshua Ofman, MD, MSHS, GRAIL chief medical officer and head of external affairs. \u201cCancer never quits, making the detection of residual disease and early recurrences critical to helping patients and care providers stay ahead of the disease.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cAmgen is pleased to partner with GRAIL to understand how this technology can provide deeper insights into tumor biology and a patient\u2019s prognosis,\u201d said Narimon Honarpour, vice president, Translational Medicine, Amgen. \u201cAchieving better clinical outcomes relies upon our understanding of cancer progression and the field needs more robust testing capabilities.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cResearch has shown that we can improve outcomes across cancer types by treating patients as early as possible and intervening early if cancer recurs, which underpins our strategy,\u201d said Carl Barrett, vice president, Translational Science, Oncology R&D, AstraZeneca. \u201cThis collaboration with GRAIL will allow us to test a promising approach for monitoring MRD and detecting recurrence \u2013 tools that will provide critical information that we hope can optimize patient treatment plans.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWe are committed to leveraging the latest science and technologies to bring continued innovation to the healthcare community and patients we serve,\u201d said Sarah Hersey, vice president, Precision Medicine, Translational Medicine, Bristol Myers Squibb. \u201cOur collaboration with GRAIL and other leaders in the industry will help enhance our ability to address the outstanding challenges of detecting and treating cancer head-on.\u201d<\/p>\n
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About GRAIL<\/p>\n
GRAIL is a healthcare company whose mission is to detect cancer early, when it can be cured. GRAIL is focused on saving lives and improving health by pioneering new technologies for early cancer detection. The company is using the power of next-generation sequencing, population-scale clinical studies, and state-of-the-art computer science and data science to overcome one of medicine\u2019s greatest challenges with Galleri\u2122, GRAIL\u2019s multi-cancer early detection test. An earlier version of Galleri demonstrated the ability to detect more than 50 types of cancers \u2014 over 45 of which lack recommended screening tests today \u2014 with a low false-positive rate of less than 1%. When cancer is detected, Galleri localizes the cancer signal with high accuracy, all from a single blood draw. GRAIL is headquartered in Menlo Park, California, with locations in Washington, D.C., North Carolina, and the United Kingdom. It is supported by leading global investors and pharmaceutical, technology, and healthcare companies.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
MENLO PARK, Calif., January 11, 2021 \u2014 GRAIL, Inc., a healthcare company whose mission is to detect cancer early, today announced collaborations with global biopharmaceutical companies Amgen (NASDAQ:AMGN), AstraZeneca (LSE\/STO\/Nasdaq: AZN), and Bristol Myers Squibb (NYSE: BMY) to evaluate GRAIL\u2019s methylation-based technology for the detection of minimal residual disease (MRD). Cancer MRD testing is used […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"featured_media":765,"parent":0,"menu_order":0,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-2192","press-release","type-press-release","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n