Strand Life Sciences, a small Indian company based in Bengaluru, has just launched a Liquid Biopsy test portfolio, called STRAND LB, designed to decode genetic information, which  will assist doctors and provide early and precise indication of tumour presence, cancer recurrence, and response to therapy. 
“The technique helps to create personalized cancer treatment plans for each patient. It can also provide insights to assess if a patient is prone to a relapse and if a person is likely to respond to therapy or not”, said Dr Sharat Damodar, Clinical Director, Mazumdar Shaw Medical Centre. 

“Our study on patients spanning a wide variety of cancer types – including lung, colorectal, breast, and bladder cancer – shows that STRAND LB can detect tumour DNA traces in as many as 35% of patients with early-stage cancer, going up to 70-90% in patients with locally advanced or metastatic cancer. These figures are at par with the best in the world,” said Dr. Vijay Chandru, Managing Director, Strand Life Sciences. 

STRAND LB will be sold for $310 compared to similar technology in the United States costs at least 10 times more.