GRAIL today announced a collaboration with global biopharmaceutical companies Amgen, AstraZeneca, and Bristol Myers Squibb to evaluate GRAIL’s methylation-based technology for the detection of minimal residual disease (MRD).
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 can result in potential delay in treatment decisions. GRAIL’s targeted methylation platform could enable a blood-based MRD detection assay for solid tumors that perform comparably to bespoke tissue-based analysis, while reducing complexity and processing times.
“Amgen is pleased to partner with GRAIL to understand how this technology can provide deeper insights into tumor biology and a patient’s prognosis, said Narimon Honapour, Amegen’s vice president of translational medicine. “Achieving better clinical outcomes relies upon our understanding of cancer progression and the field needs more robust testing capabilities.”
“Research 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,” said AstraZeneca Vice President, Translational Science, Oncology R&D Carl Barrett. “This collaboration with GRAIL will allow us to test a promising approach for monitoring MRD and detecting recurrence—tools that will provide critical information that we hope can optimize patient treatment plans.”
“We are committed to leveraging the latest science and technologies to bring continued innovation to the healthcare community and patients we serve. Our 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,” said Sarah Hersey, vice president, precision medicine, translational medicine at Bristol Myers Squibb.
Read the full press release here.