The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved Guardant Health's liquid biopsy, Guardant360 CDx, for tumor mutation profiling in patients across all solid cancers.

For Guardant Health Asia, the Middle East and Africa (AMEA), this FDA approval represents a landmark achievement for the Guardant360 test. Currently, the liquid biopsy is commercially available in 41 countries in AMEA. For advanced cancer patients, this FDA approval lends even greater credibility to the test and its ability to provide comprehensive genomic profiling information that is critical to their cancer treatment.

"This FDA approval is a significant milestone for us and it will certainly boost our efforts in offering Guardant360 as the preferred liquid biopsy option in AMEA. We remain committed to making the Guardant360 test available to as many advanced cancer patients as possible so that they can undergo complete genotyping and have the best opportunity to receive the right treatment for their cancer," said Mr Simranjit Singh, Chief Executive Officer of Guardant Health AMEA.

"The US FDA approval validates the technology behind the Guardant360 assay that we offer to advanced-stage cancer patients in AMEA. Treatment guidelines recommend testing for more than 20 different genomic biomarkers. Evaluating each mutation individually wastes time and delays treatment. With Guardant360, physicians and patients can feel confident that relevant genes are being assessed with a single blood test. Results are available within 7 days from receipt in the laboratory. This will help more patients start treatment sooner with appropriate precision cancer medicines," said, Chief Medical Officer Dr. Steve Olsen of Guardant Health AMEA.

Guardant Health AMEA hopes to accelerate wider adoption of guideline-recommended genomic profiling in clinical practice among medical oncologists so that advanced cancer patients in AMEA can benefit from reliable and comprehensive liquid biopsies such as Guardant360 and be treated quickly and accurately.

Guardant Health AMEA is a joint venture between SoftBank and Guardant Health, 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 is designed to leverage its 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 multiple liquid biopsy-based tests, Guardant360 and GuardantOMNI, for advanced-stage cancer patients, which fuel its LUNAR development programs for recurrence and early detection. Since its launch in 2014, Guardant360 has been ordered used by more than 7,000 oncologists and over 60 biopharmaceutical companies.