Illumina, Inc. (NASDAQ:ILMN) and Labcorp (NYSE:LH), a global leader of innovative and comprehensive laboratory services, today announced an expanded collaboration to advance precision oncology through innovative applications of next-generation sequencing (NGS) solutions across the healthcare ecosystem. Projects are expected to include promoting equitable access to cancer biomarker testing by bringing it closer to patients through new distributed test offerings; generating evidence to facilitate payer coverage; and developing new tests to address areas of unmet need.

"By deepening our collaboration, we'll continue to leverage the strengths of our respective teams to innovate and improve access to critical biomarker testing for patients with cancer," said Traci Pawlowski, vice president of Clinical Product Development at Illumina. "Our longstanding collaboration is rooted in a shared vision to advance precision oncology through groundbreaking research and leading-edge technologies."

New test development is expected to span advanced oncology research and in vitro diagnostic (IVD) tests for comprehensive genomic profiling (CGP) and whole-genome sequencing (WGS). These solutions will aim to address areas of unmet needs in precision oncology and help bridge existing testing gaps.

As part of the collaboration, the companies will explore co-commercializing Labcorp's FDA-authorized liquid biopsy assay PGDx elio® plasma focus™ Dx alongside Illumina's FDA-approved TruSight™ Oncology Comprehensive for solid tumor profiling. Together, these distributed IVD test kits are intended to expand access to both tissue and liquid biopsy testing for hospitals and community health systems—bringing advanced biomarker testing closer to patients and helping to provide more specific diagnoses and identify eligibility for targeted treatments and clinical trials. This distributed offering also aims to provide pharmaceutical companies with differentiated opportunities for companion diagnostic (CDx) development, supporting both tissue and liquid biopsy needs for targeted therapy approvals.