MENLO PARK, Calif., March 16, 2021 — GRAIL, Inc., a healthcare company whose mission is to detect cancer early, announced today it is joining forces with AccessHope™ to offer a world-class service experience to people who use Galleri™, GRAIL’s first-of-kind multi-cancer early detection blood test. This collaboration is part of GRAIL’s effort to help patients and their healthcare providers achieve favorable outcomes by making the test experience, from blood draw to cancer care, as seamless as possible.
AccessHope, a company that provides cancer expertise to employers and their healthcare partners, will offer Galleri users coordination services during the test experience, including access to a support team for guidance and information. AccessHope also will provide support to physicians as they determine next steps to evaluate a positive Galleri test result.
“Most cancers are diagnosed too late, when outcomes are poor,” said Dr. Joshua Ofman, chief medical officer and head of external affairs at GRAIL. “The introduction of Galleri as a complement to recommended cancer screening tests provides an opportunity to fundamentally change the way that we detect cancer. Best-in-class expert services like those offered by AccessHope will be an essential part of GRAIL supporting providers and their patients from test to diagnosis to treatment.”
GRAIL previously announced it will introduce Galleri in the second quarter of 2021. An earlier version of Galleri demonstrated the ability to detect more than 50 types of cancers — over 45 of which lack recommended screening tests today — with a low false positive rate of less than 1%. When a cancer signal is detected, Galleri can determine where in the body the cancer is located with high accuracy, all from a single blood draw. This is critical to help guide diagnostic follow-up and care.
“The rising cost of cancer care — coupled with the extraordinary rate of innovation and changes in best practices — make early detection even more vital when it comes to improving a patient’s healthcare experience, outcomes, value, and care,” said Mark Stadler, CEO of AccessHope. “Our mission at AccessHope is to deploy the latest cancer care knowledge to the places and people who need it most when it is most valuable. Providing support services for Galleri offers another way we can touch more lives and extend our mission.”
Galleri, which will require a prescription, will be available initially through partner health systems, medical practices, and self-insured employers.
Cancer is projected to become the world’s leading cause of death in 2021. In the U.S., more than 600,000 people died from cancer last year. This is in large part because the majority of cancers are found too late when outcomes are often fatal. Recommended screening tests in the U.S. save lives, but they only cover five cancers and screen for a single cancer at a time. In fact, cancers responsible for 71% of cancer deaths have no recommended early detection screening at all.
About GRAIL
GRAIL is a healthcare company whose mission is to detect cancer early, when it can be cured. GRAIL is focused on saving lives and improving health by pioneering new technologies for early cancer detection. The company is using the power of next-generation sequencing, population-scale clinical studies, and state-of-the-art computer science and data science to overcome one of medicine’s greatest challenges with Galleri™, GRAIL’s multi-cancer early detection blood test. With this proprietary technology, GRAIL is also developing solutions to help accelerate cancer diagnoses, blood-based detection for minimal residual disease, and other post-diagnostic applications. GRAIL is headquartered in Menlo Park, California, with locations in Washington, D.C., North Carolina, and the United Kingdom. It is supported by leading global investors and pharmaceutical, technology, and healthcare companies.
About AccessHope
AccessHope believes in putting the ever-growing body of cancer knowledge to work for the greater good. The company delivers a revolutionary employee health benefit that connects cancer patients and their families with expertise from NCI-designated comprehensive cancer centers. A wholly owned subsidiary of City of Hope, a world-renowned independent cancer research and treatment center, AccessHope is sharing the latest discoveries in cancer care and working with local oncologists to help develop precise plans for treatment. The company brings the vast expertise of major medical centers to people near and far. They never have to switch doctors. They never have to leave home. It’s simply a better approach to cancer care. And getting better every day. AccessHope serves more than 2 million members who have cancer support benefits through 42 employers, including 18 Fortune 500 companies. For more information about AccessHope, visit myaccesshope.org and follow us on LinkedIn and Twitter.