GRAIL

Grail (styled GRAIL) is an American biotechnology company in Menlo Park, California. It is a subsidiary of Illumina started as a startup seeking to develop an early cancer screening test for people who do not have symptoms. Their liquid biopsy (also called multi-cancer early detection test) which was launched in June 2021 and is called the Galleri test, detects fragments of DNA in a blood sample via next-generation sequencing, which identifies DNA methylation, distinct patterns of which are associated with particular cancers, potentially allowing for the early detection of cancer and providing information of the origin of the cancer. It is one of three multi-cancer screening tests under investigation; the other two being the CancerSEEK assay and the PanSeer assay. History Grail began as a San Francisco biotechnology and pharmaceutical startup company in 2015, the parent company being Illumina of San Diego, which produces most of the DNA sequencing machines that scientists use to study human biology and diagnose rare genetic diseases. Richard Klausner, then chief medical officer at Illumina and former director of the National Cancer Institute, advocated for the new business. According to the San Francisco Business Times, he correctly predicted how DNA sequencing technology would make it possible to detect evidence of a tumor from a blood sample. He also joined Grail's board of directors. According to Forbes in 2017, 20% of Grail's profits are kept by Illumina. In September 2020, Illumina announced an agreement to purchase Grail outright for $7.1 billion.