Zydus Lifesciences and Guardant Health, Inc., a leading precision oncology company, have an exclusive agreement to make the Shield™ Multi-Cancer Detection (MCD) test available in India, for which Zydus has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Apollo Hospitals to offer the test in the territory.

The Shield MCD test is a methylation-based blood test for the detection of multiple cancer types including bladder, colorectal, breast, prostate, oesophageal, gastric, liver, lung, ovarian and pancreas cancer in individuals aged 45 or older and who are at typical average risk for cancer. With just a blood draw, the test screens for 10 of the most common cancers, many of which have high mortality rates in India. The test has been granted Breakthrough Device Designation by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), recognising its potential to provide more effective screening for cancers than existing options.