Guardant Health: Guardant Health and Quest Diagnostics Announce Strategic Collaboration to Broaden Access to Guardant's Shield Blood-Based Screening Test in the United States

Guardant Health, Inc. and Quest Diagnostics announced a broad strategic collaboration to make Guardant's Shield?? blood-based screening test available to physicians and patients served by Quest in the United States. Shield is the first and only blood test to receive full FDA approval as a primary screening option for colorectal cancer in average-risk adults aged 45 and older. Through a multi-year agreement, Quest's provider clients that order lab testing from Quest will be able to directly order Shield through their existing Quest account and electronic health record (EHR). Quest provided healthcare connectivity solutions to approximately 650,000 clinician and hospital accounts last year. Quest's provider clients will also be able to refer patients to Quest's 2,000 patient service centers and 6,000 in-office phlebotomists for blood draws in the United States. In addition, Quest's national commercial sales team will proactively educate primary care physicians and obstetricians and gynecologists about the test, accelerating awareness among Quest's ordering providers. Shield is expected to be available for physician order through Quest in the first quarter of 2026. Colorectal cancer is the second leading cause of cancer-related deaths in the U.S. The disease has a 91% five-year survival rate if caught in early stages. Yet, one out of three eligible adults in the U.S. -- over 50 million people -- do not complete the recommended screening, in part because they find the available options, colonoscopy and stool tests, unpleasant or inconvenient. With Shield, individuals can be screened with a simple blood draw, helping to detect cancer early, when it is more treatable. Shield is covered by Medicare and the Veterans Affairs Community Care Network, and is commercially available across the U.S. About Shield Shield is a non-invasive, blood-based screening test that detects alterations associated with colorectal cancer in the blood. It is intended as a screening test for individuals at average risk for the disease, age 45 or older, and is not intended for individuals at high risk for colorectal cancer. The Shield test can be considered in a manner similar to guideline-recommended non-invasive CRC screening options and can be completed during any healthcare visit. A positive Shield result raises concern for the presence of colorectal cancer or advanced adenoma and the patient should be referred for colonoscopy evaluation.