More Blood Tests for Cancer Hit the Market

By Bill Alpert – Barron’s

Exact Sciences launched a blood test Wednesday that can detect many kinds of cancer, even before symptoms appear. It will become available from its website in October for $690.

• Exact Sciences is launching Cancerguard, a blood test to detect many cancers before symptoms appear, available in October for $690.
• Grail, Guardant Health, and Exact are entering a multi-cancer detection market, potentially worth over $25 billion in annual sales.
• Multi-cancer blood tests face hurdles, needing FDA approval and Medicare coverage, which require large clinical trials to prove they save lives.