Genome Sequencing Company Plans to Develop Liquid Biopsy for Cancer Detection

Illumina's genetic sequencing technology will look for genetic material from tumor cells in peoples' blood long before they have any evidence of cancer.

As many companies are trying to develop liquid biopsy for diagnosing and preventing cancer development, the San Diego-based genome sequencing company Illumina has also joined this group.

Illumina has announced that it will create a new company called “Grail” for developing liquid biopsy for cancer diagnosis. It will develop an exclusive blood test to identify early-stage cancers in people with no symptoms of the disease.

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Illumina, a genome sequencing company, is launching a new company that will develop and market a test to detect genetic evidence of cancer in the blood.

Grail's test will use Illumina's DNA sequencing technology to scan for bits of cancer genes originating in tumors and circulating in the bloodstream. The hope is to detect many types of newly forming tumors, which could be treated at an earlier stage to increase the chances of survival.

Illumina Chief Executive, Jay Flatley, who will serve as Chairman of Grail, said, "We hope today is a turning point in the war on cancer. By enabling the early detection of cancer in asymptomatic individuals through a simple blood screen, we aim to massively decrease cancer mortality by detecting the disease at a curable stage."

Source-Medindia

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