Guardant Health, Zydus to launch Shield blood test in India
A new blood test called Shield, created by U.S.-based Guardant Health and being launched in India in collaboration with Zydus Lifesciences, is coming to India to help spot cancers like gastric, liver, colorectal, breast, and prostate much earlier.
This move targets India's rising cancer cases and the fact that many people aren't getting screened soon enough.
Guardant and Zydus discuss Shield rollout
Guardant and Zydus are in discussions with around 10 hospital chains, wellness centers and laboratories to roll out Shield.
Instead of a traditional biopsy, this test just needs a blood sample to find tumor DNA, so it's way less invasive.
Simranjit Singh, Guardant Health's chief executive officer for Asia, Middle East and Africa, pointed out that most cancers here are caught too late for effective treatment.
Early detection with Shield could really boost survival rates and help lower the country's high cancer death rate.
The price will depend on partnerships, but in the US it costs $1,495 for Shield CRC.