Bristol-Myers Squibb (BMS) has made an equity investment in and plans to form a research collaboration with Grail, a Menlo Park, California-headquartered life-sciences company focused on early detection of cancer. The financial details of the transaction were not disclosed.

As an investor, BMS will gain early access to Grail’s clinical-trial databases as a resource for understanding tumor genomics. Additionally, BMS and Grail have agreed to principal terms of a research collaboration that would enable BMS to examine its clinical data using Grail’s analytic tools to inform research and development decisions, guide strategies to advance point-of-care companion diagnostics, and potentially improve selection, care, and management of patients through more targeted treatments.

Grail aims to develop blood tests that detect cancer in its early stages to enable earlier intervention with targeted therapies. The company is combining cancer DNA sequencing, computer science, and large clinical studies into a diagnostic platform for this purpose.

Source: Bristol-Myers Squibb