REDWOOD CITY, Calif., March 27, 2019 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Guardant Health, Inc. (Nasdaq: GH), announced that it has entered into a definitive agreement to acquire Bellwether Bio, Inc., a privately held company focused on improving oncology patient care through their pioneering research into the epigenomic content of cell free DNA. The transaction is expected to close in April 2019.
The Bellwether Bio team will join Guardant Health to further advance its early detection product pipeline. The team includes Jay Shendure, MD, PhD, who will act as a scientific advisor to Guardant Health. His lab's work on the epigenomics of cell-free DNA, specifically with respect to nucleosome positioning and fragmentomics, was described in a landmark Cell publication in 2016 co-authored by Bellwether Bio CTO Matthew Snyder, PhD.
“We are excited to welcome the Bellwether team and believe they will enhance our product pipeline as we seek to expand precision oncology to earlier stages of disease,” said Guardant Health Co-Founder and President AmirAli Talasaz, PhD. “Our early research has shown the strong potential impact of incorporating biologically-relevant epigenomic information on the clinical performance of blood tests for early stage cancer detection.”
At the AACR annual meeting in Atlanta on March 31, 3pm, investigators from Guardant Health and the Samsung Medical Center will report results from a pilot study (abstract #916) of Guardant’s LUNAR assay in early stage cancer. The study demonstrates that addition of epigenomics to the assay can potentially lead to significant improvements in sensitivity for stage I and II colorectal cancer.
“Guardant has demonstrated remarkable progress toward its goal,” Bellwether Bio CEO Rahul Shendure said. “I am proud of the groundbreaking work the Bellwether team has accomplished to date and believe that joining Guardant’s efforts will speed their path even further.”
About Guardant Health
Guardant Health is a leading precision oncology company focused on helping conquer cancer globally through use of its proprietary blood tests, vast data sets and advanced analytics. The Guardant Health Oncology Platform leverages capabilities in technology, clinical development, regulatory and reimbursement to drive commercial adoption, improve patient clinical outcomes and lower healthcare costs. In pursuit of its goal to manage cancer across all stages of the disease, Guardant Health has launched liquid biopsy-based Guardant360 and GuardantOMNI tests for advanced stage cancer patients, which fuel its LUNAR-1 and LUNAR-2 programs for minimal residual disease/recurrence monitoring and for early detection screening, respectively. Since its launch in 2014, Guardant360 test has been used by more than 6,000 oncologists, over 50 biopharmaceutical companies and all 28 of the National Comprehensive Cancer Network centers.
Forward-looking Statements
This press release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of federal securities laws, including statements regarding the expected consummation of the acquisition of Bellwether Bio, Inc. 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. 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, 2018 and in its other reports filed with 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.
Investor Contact:
Lynn Lewis or Carrie Mendivil
investors@guardanthealth.com
Media Contact:
Josh Wein or Ian Stone
press@guardanthealth.com
Source: Guardant Health, Inc.