3.16.22
By Mike Smith
Liquid biopsy is a very cool technology that I first encountered in 2014 while working on a project. Since then, the market for this very broad and varied family of molecular diagnostics for cancer has grown dramatically, according to the market analysts at Transparency Market Research (MRT), which has made this market prognosis in a new report they are selling.
According to MRT “Liquid Biopsy” is defined as
A minimally invasive test to assess cancer genetic status based on the analysis of circulating biomarkers that are present in the plasma component of the blood. Liquid biopsies are majorly utilized in the field of oncology. Liquid biopsy can improve and/or resolve several inherent problems found with current cancer treatment, enabling early cancer detection, mutation detection, tumor monitoring during treatment, and recurrence monitoring via a non-invasive blood draw. In addition to being non-invasive, liquid biopsies have the potential to detect cancer before substantial tumor formation, assess multiple mutations within the tumor (reducing heterogeneity concerns), quantitatively monitor treatment progress, and identify new mutations as they emerge as well as monitor for recurrence to detect cancer before imaging-detectable tumor formation or metastasis. In addition to oncology, liquid biopsies are applicable in prenatal testing and transplant care.
MRT estimates that this global market growth is more than a 100 percent increase from the global market total of $3.9 billion in 2017. The market leaders include: Biocept, Inc., MDxHealth, Myriad Genetics, Inc., Bio-Rad Laboratories, QIAGEN, F. Hoffmann-La Roche Ltd., Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc., Genomic Health, Inc., and Illumina, Inc. However, there are hundreds of others innovating in this space, including many that are well funded.
In addition to extensive clinical and research use, liquid biopsies also provide physicians significant insights into the molecular profile of cancers, which allows clinicians to tailor chemotherapeutic treatments to the unique disease details of each patient.
MRT adds that the preference for minimally invasive procedures and the constant need for faster test result has fueled the rapid growth of this market. “Furthermore, rise in awareness regarding this procedure, benefits of simple blood draw, better therapeutic target identifications, and favorable government initiatives are also driving the global liquid biopsy market on to a higher growth curve,” according to MRT. “Additionally, it is also worth noting here that number of people suffering from cancer is growing steadily.” Neary 10 million deaths globally in 2018 are attributed to cancer.
The clinical and investment world began to take notice of liquid biopsy science in 2018 when Illumina-backed biotech startup GRAIL Inc. launched a 120,000-patient clinical trial for its next-generation sequencing test platform for the early detection of breast cancer. The test was called Galleri and GRAIL had raised $1 billion in VC funding for the trial. In late 2020, Illumina bought the startup outright for $7.1 billion. At that time, Illumina told the Wall Street Journal that it expected the global liquid biopsy market to hit $75 billion by 2035.
According to GRAIL: “The Galleri test has shown the ability to detect multiple types of cancers through a single blood draw. Most of these cancers cannot be detected through current screening paradigms. When cancer signal was detected, the Galleri test localized the cancer signal with high accuracy, helping inform next steps to diagnosis. The Galleri test is intended to be complementary to, and not a replacement of, U.S. guideline-recommended cancer screening.”
The MRT liquid biopsy report would be a fascinating read, but it costs $5,795,00, which is probably a good investment for a well-funded liquid biopsy startup, but not for a lab rat like me.