{"id":4233,"date":"2024-04-18T11:42:09","date_gmt":"2024-04-18T18:42:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/grail.com\/?page_id=4233"},"modified":"2025-09-25T14:42:55","modified_gmt":"2025-09-25T21:42:55","slug":"our-history","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/grail.com\/our-history\/","title":{"rendered":"Our History"},"content":{"rendered":"\n\n
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\n \"\"\n <\/div>\n
\n \"Background\n <\/div>\n
\n \"Background\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n
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An unexpected discovery unlocks a major breakthrough for changing lives at population scale<\/h2>\n
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An Unexpected Discovery<\/h2>\n

2015-2017<\/h3>\n

We didn\u2019t start off looking for a way to detect cancer.<\/h4>\n

In 2015, Illumina\u2019s non-invasive prenatal test (NIPT) unexpectedly detected genomic abnormalities in pregnant mothers that were unrelated to the health of their children. The test detected cell-free DNA from cancer present in the mother\u2019s blood.<\/p>\n

In 2016, Illumina spun out a separate entity to focus on researching this incredible discovery, naming it GRAIL because the co-founders believed a simple blood test could be the \u201choly GRAIL\u201d of cancer detection. With a focus on scientific excellence, transparency, and a vision for what was possible, we raised the funds required to pursue this revolutionary idea.<\/p>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n\n

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