Guardant Health and Quest Diagnostics Announce Strategic Collaboration to Broaden Access to Guardant's Shield™ Blood-based Screening Test in the United States
Collaboration to enable streamlined and accelerated access to Shield blood-based colorectal cancer screening test across Quest's vast network
Guardant Health, Inc. (NASDAQ:GH), a leading precision oncology company, and Quest Diagnostics (NYSE:DGX), a leader in diagnostic information services, today announced a broad strategic collaboration to make Guardant's Shield™ blood-based screening test available to physicians and patients served by Quest in the United States.
Shield is the first and only blood test to receive full FDA approval as a primary screening option for colorectal cancer in average-risk adults aged 45 and older. Through a multi-year agreement, Quest's provider clients that order lab testing from Quest will be able to directly order Shield through their existing Quest account and electronic health record (EHR). Quest provided healthcare connectivity solutions to approximately 650,000 clinician and hospital accounts last year. Quest's provider clients will also be able to refer patients to Quest's 2,000 patient service centers and 6,000 in-office phlebotomists for blood draws in the United States. In addition, Quest's national commercial sales team will proactively educate primary care physicians and obstetricians and gynecologists about the test, accelerating awareness among Quest's ordering providers. Shield is expected to be available for physician order through Quest in the first quarter of 2026.
"Shield makes cancer screening pleasant and convenient, through just a simple blood draw. Our strategic collaboration with Quest represents a pivotal step in accelerating access to this groundbreaking technology, enabling primary care physicians across the country to offer their patients the lifesaving benefits of early detection," said AmirAli Talasaz, Guardant Health co-CEO. "By rapidly scaling Shield's lifesaving innovation through Quest's nationwide network, we will strengthen our ability to fundamentally change the trajectory of the disease."
"This collaboration reinforces our commitment to expanding our oncology offering to include cutting-edge screening technology for diseases, like colorectal cancer, that can often be prevented when caught early," Jim Davis, Chairman, CEO and President, Quest Diagnostics, said. "A blood-based test for colorectal cancer has the potential to reduce several barriers that prevent wider population screening. Our relationship with Guardant Health reflects the unique strength of Quest's scale and ability to enable nationwide access to advanced diagnostics with the potential to greatly improve patient outcomes."
Colorectal cancer is the second leading cause of cancer-related deaths in the U.S.1 The disease has a 91 percent five-year survival rate if caught in early stages.2 Yet, one out of three eligible adults in the U.S. -- over 50 million people -- do not complete the recommended screening, in part because they find the available options, colonoscopy and stool tests, unpleasant or inconvenient.3 With Shield, individuals can be screened with a simple blood draw, helping to detect cancer early, when it is more treatable. Shield is covered by Medicare and the Veterans Affairs Community Care Network, and is commercially available across the U.S.
About Shield
Shield is a non-invasive, blood-based screening test that detects alterations associated with colorectal cancer in the blood. It is intended as a screening test for individuals at average risk for the disease, age 45 or older, and is not intended for individuals at high risk for colorectal cancer. The Shield test can be considered in a manner similar to guideline-recommended non-invasive CRC screening options and can be completed during any healthcare visit. A positive Shield result raises concern for the presence of colorectal cancer or advanced adenoma and the patient should be referred for colonoscopy evaluation.
About Guardant Health
Guardant Health is a leading precision oncology company focused on guarding wellness and giving every person more time free from cancer. Founded in 2012, Guardant is transforming patient care and accelerating new cancer therapies by providing critical insights into what drives disease through its advanced blood and tissue tests, real-world data and AI analytics. Guardant tests help improve outcomes across all stages of care, including screening to find cancer early, monitoring for recurrence in early-stage cancer, and treatment selection for patients with advanced cancer. For more information, visit guardanthealth.com and follow the company on LinkedIn, X (Twitter) and Facebook.
About Quest Diagnostics
Quest Diagnostics works across the healthcare ecosystem to create a healthier world, one life at a time. We provide diagnostic insights from the results of our laboratory testing to empower people, physicians and organizations to take action to improve health outcomes. Derived from one of the world's largest databases of de-identifiable clinical lab results, Quest's diagnostic insights reveal new avenues to identify and treat disease, inspire healthy behaviors and improve healthcare management. Quest Diagnostics annually serves one in three adult Americans and half the physicians and hospitals in the United States, and our more than 55,000 employees understand that, in the right hands and with the right context, our diagnostic insights can inspire actions that transform lives and create a healthier world. www.QuestDiagnostics.com.
Guardant Health Forward-Looking Statements
This press release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of federal securities laws, including statements regarding the potential utilities, values, benefits and advantages of Guardant Health's liquid biopsy tests or assays, which involve risks and uncertainties that could cause the actual results to differ materially from the anticipated results and expectations expressed in these forward-looking statements. These statements are based on current expectations, forecasts and assumptions, and actual outcomes and results could differ materially from these statements due to a number of factors. These and additional risks and uncertainties that could affect Guardant Health's financial and operating results and cause actual results to differ materially from those indicated by the forward-looking statements made in this press release include those discussed under the captions "Risk Factors" and "Management's Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operation" and elsewhere in its Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2024 and in its other reports filed with or furnished to the Securities and Exchange Commission. The forward-looking statements in this press release are based on information available to Guardant Health as of the date hereof, and Guardant Health disclaims any obligation to update any forward-looking statements provided to reflect any change in its expectations or any change in events, conditions, or circumstances on which any such statement is based, except as required by law. These forward-looking statements should not be relied upon as representing Guardant Health's views as of any date subsequent to the date of this press release.
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1 American Cancer Society. Key Statistics for Colorectal Cancer. Accessed online May 8, 2023. https://www.cancer.org/cancer/types/colon-rectal-cancer/about/key-statistics.html
2 American Society of Clinical Oncology. Colorectal Cancer: Statistics. https://www.cancer.net/cancer-types/colorectal-cancer/statistics#
3 Rich T, Raymond V, Lang K. Where are we today? Efforts to understand strategies and barriers to physician issuance of a recommendation for colorectal cancer screening: a systematic review. Gastroenterology. 2020;158(6 suppl 1):S-918. doi:10.1016/S0016-5085(20)32981-4.
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Guardant Health Contacts
Investor Contact:
Zarak Khurshid
[email protected]
Media Contact:
Meaghan Smith
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Quest Contact:
William Friedman
[email protected]