Search for Cancer Blood Test Continues Despite Illumina-Grail Deal’s Failure

Investors shelved their hopes for a pioneering cancer blood test after Illumina ‘s $8 billion acquisition of start-up Grail was scuttled by antitrust regulators last year. A decade from now, these blood tests could be used to flag the more than 60% of deadly cancers that currently lack any way to screen for them. At the annual meeting of the American Association for Cancer Research in San Diego, Exact Sciences reported on a 6,000-sample study of a multi-cancer test it plans to offer alongside single-cancer screening products such as its well-known Cologuard stool-based test for colon cancer.