Cancer Research UK and Guardant Health Launch Collaboration to Advance Cancer Research and Clinical Development Activities

Mission-focused collaboration to explore opportunities to help accelerate the discovery and development of cancer drugs and diagnostics for patients

LONDON & PALO ALTO, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Cancer Research UK, one of the world’s largest charitable funders of cancer research, its innovation unit, Cancer Research Horizons, and Guardant Health, Inc. (Nasdaq: GH), a leading precision oncology company, today announced a collaboration to explore the sharing of technologies, data, and insights to advance the development and precision of cancer detection and treatment.

The agreement will enable the parties to discuss opportunities for collaboration to support the charity’s research and clinical development activities, focusing primarily on its clinical trials run by its Centre for Drug Development. This includes the DETERMINE trial – the first UK national precision medicine trial in rare cancers, and other Cancer Research UK and Cancer Research Horizons research collaborations.

Additional potential collaboration activities may include sharing data and samples from the Cancer Research UK-funded research network to further develop and validate Guardant’s technologies, as well as explore other projects to accelerate the discovery and development of cancer drugs and diagnostics.

“Partnering with Cancer Research UK grants us with a unique opportunity to further validate Guardant’s unique technologies, including our proprietary Infinity^TM platform, while providing the support needed for those with rare cancers and others who could greatly benefit from precision oncology,” said Helmy Eltoukhy, co-CEO of Guardant Health. “We’re looking forward to learning more throughout this partnership to provide an even higher-level of quality in our tools.”

Through this partnership, Guardant Health will further expand its partnership with one of the world’s leading cancer charities, Cancer Research UK, combining leading edge technology in biotechnology with an expansive reach of more than 200 clinical trials and studies in over a million people in the UK.

“Partnering with Guardant Health brings exciting potential for us to accelerate our work by applying best-in-class data-driven insights and technologies to our detection and treatment studies. Our Centre for Drug Development has an excellent track record in bringing novel therapeutics to first-in-human trials and we look forward to seeing the positive impact this collaboration will have on the Centre’s work and beyond,” said Tony Hickson, Chief Business Officer for Cancer Research UK and Cancer Research Horizons.

About Guardant Health

Guardant Health is a leading precision oncology company focused on helping conquer cancer globally through use of its proprietary tests, vast data sets and advanced analytics. The Guardant Health oncology platform leverages capabilities to drive commercial adoption, improve patient clinical outcomes and lower healthcare costs across all stages of the cancer care continuum. Guardant Health has commercially launched Guardant360®, Guardant360 CDx, Guardant360 TissueNext™, Guardant360 Response™, and GuardantOMNI® tests for advanced stage cancer patients, and Guardant Reveal™ for early-stage cancer patients. The Guardant Health screening portfolio, including the Shield^TM test, aims to address the needs of individuals eligible for cancer screening. For more information, visit guardanthealth.com and follow the company on LinkedIn and Twitter.

About Cancer Research UK

• Cancer Research UK is the world’s leading cancer charity dedicated to saving lives through research, influence and information.
• Cancer Research UK’s pioneering work into the prevention, diagnosis and treatment of cancer has helped save millions of lives.
• Cancer Research UK has been at the heart of the progress that has already seen survival in the UK double in the last 50 years.
• Today, 2 in 4 people survive their cancer for at least 10 years. Cancer Research UK wants to accelerate progress and see 3 in 4 people surviving their cancer by 2034.
• Cancer Research UK supports research into the prevention and treatment of cancer through the work of over 4,000 scientists, doctors and nurses.
• Together with its partners and supporters Cancer Research UK is working towards a world where people can live longer, better lives, free from the fear of cancer.

For further information about Cancer Research UK's work or to find out how to support the charity, please call 0300 123 1022 or visit www.cancerresearchuk.org. Follow us on Twitter and Facebook.

About Cancer Research Horizons

Cancer Research Horizons is the innovation engine of Cancer Research UK – the world's largest charitable funder of cancer research. We bring together world-leading minds, bold ideas and the right partners to bridge the gap between academic research and taking drugs to market. We focus on the tougher, more profound ideas that can lead to true innovation, translating them into effective treatments and diagnostics for cancer patients.

To date, we've played an instrumental role in forming over 60 spin-out companies. We've helped bring 11 cancer drugs to market, borne out of Cancer Research UK's pioneering research. Through these drugs, we have enabled in excess of 6 million courses of treatment for cancer patients across the world.

With access to Cancer Research UK's network of 4,000 exceptional researchers, and £300+ million of annual research spend, we're a powerful partner in the fight to conquer cancer. By uniting our commercial partnerships and therapeutic innovation capabilities, Cancer Research Horizons is uniquely placed to support translational funding, entrepreneurial development, licensing and collaboration, spinout creation, and offer a full spectrum of drug discovery and clinical capabilities.

Every penny we make goes back into funding the next bold steps, to help bring forward the day when all cancers are conquered.

About Cancer Research UK’s Centre for Drug Development

Cancer Research UK has an impressive record of developing novel treatments for cancer. The Cancer Research UK Centre for Drug Development has been pioneering the development of new cancer treatments for 25 years, taking over 140 potential new anti-cancer agents into clinical trials in patients. It currently has a portfolio of 21 new anti-cancer agents in preclinical development, Phase 1 or early Phase 2a clinical trials. Six of these new agents have made it to market including temozolomide for brain cancer, abiraterone for prostate cancer and rucaparib for ovarian cancer. Two other drugs are in late development Phase 3 trials. www.cruk.org.uk/cdd

Melissa Marasco
press@guardanthealth.com
+1 650-647-3711

Eleanor Bennett
Eleanor.Bennett@cancer.org.uk
020 3469 5370