Strand Life Sciences has now commercialized its liquid biopsy test portfolio ‘Strand LB’ that provides highly sensitive detection of tumour traces from a simple blood draw. The test can provide early and precise indication of tumour presence, cancer recurrence, and response to therapy compared to any other method used in the medical industry. It costs Rs.20,000 as against the Rs.2 lakh globally with 5-day turnaround for reports.

Typically, tumours are assessed through invasive biopsies or through radioactive scans like PET. “Liquid biopsy is a paradigm shift involving a minimally-invasive procedure and can detect tumour DNA traces from a simple blood draw. The highly sensitive test is capable of detecting 1 molecule in a 1,000. Our study on patients spanning a wide variety of cancer types including lung, colorectal, breast, and bladder cancer shows that Strand LB can detect tumour DNA traces in 35 per cent of patients with early-stage cancer, going up to 70-90 per cent among those with locally advanced or metastatic cancer. These figures are at par with the best globally. We took around two years to develop the test, said Dr. Vijay Chandru, CMD, Strand Life Sciences.

The Strand LB is an outcome of the collaboration between scientific teams of Strand and Mazumdar Shaw Center for Translational Research (MSCTR). The tests were validated by clinicians at the Mazumdar Shaw Medical Center (MSMC). These liquid biopsy tests offer ultra-sensitive detection of mutations which helps early intervention. It is now made available to patients at MSMC and will also test the samples from other cancer hospitals.

Experts from Tata Memorial Centre, Mumbai represented by Dr. Kumar Prabhash, Medical Oncologist, Dr Amit Dutt, Principal investigator-ACTREC and Dr. Anuradha Chougule, Scientific Officer provided inputs and guidance in validation of the liquid biopsy.

According to Kiran Mazumdar-Shaw, CMD, Biocon, Liquid Biopsy is a huge breakthroughs in cancer detection and management. India needed such pioneering innovation in healthcare to foster early detection and reduce the non-communicable disease (NCD) burden.

Highlighting the clinical benefits of a liquid biopsy, Dr Sharat Damodar, Heme-Oncologist & Clinical Director, Mazumdar Shaw Medical Centre said, “Solid tumours developing on an internal organ is sometimes difficult to access and often require a small surgery to enable sampling. It is even more challenging when the tumour is located deep within the body. On the contrary, a liquid biopsy test requires only a simple blood draw, providing a new way forward in such situations.” The Strand-MSCTR validation study has provides the same information as a solid biopsy across a variety of cancers. It identifies the ‘genetic signature’ of a person’s cancer.

Strand LB can be used for up to 30 per cent of lung cancer patients who have insufficient tumour biopsy material to determine if they carry mutations in genes like EGFR, making them eligible for specific treatments. It can also be used to monitor emergence of resistance to treatments. It can be used to determine if traces of the tumour too small or to imaging scans remain after surgery, thus prompting more aggressive treatment. It can monitor response to treatment and detect relapse early in instances where switching treatments is a possibility.

“The biggest challenge with creating Strand LB is to cater to all the needs above, while providing high sensitivity, strong validation, and low cost. We did so by combining multiple techniques, including those that track single mutations very economically and those that track tens of genes, said Dr Ramesh Hariharan, CEO Strand Life Sciences.