On January 29, 2026 GRAIL, Inc. (Nasdaq: GRAL), a healthcare company whose mission is to detect cancer early when it can be cured, reported the submission of the final module of the Premarket Approval (PMA) application to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for its Galleri multi-cancer early detection (MCED) test. The FDA designated the test as a Breakthrough Device in 2018.

Schedule your 30 min Free 1stOncology Demo!
Discover why more than 1,500 members use 1stOncology™ to excel in:

Early/Late Stage Pipeline Development - Target Scouting - Clinical Biomarkers - Indication Selection & Expansion - BD&L Contacts - Conference Reports - Combinatorial Drug Settings - Companion Diagnostics - Drug Repositioning - First-in-class Analysis - Competitive Analysis - Deals & Licensing

                  Schedule Your 30 min Free Demo!

"Cancer is now the leading killer of adults over 50 years old in the U.S., and most deadly cancers are often discovered too late, when they are difficult to treat and typically have worse outcomes," said Josh Ofman, MD, MSHS, President at GRAIL. "There is nothing acceptable about the status quo in cancer screening. Adding Galleri to standard-of-care single cancer screening tests has the potential to dramatically improve the performance of the nation’s current screening program and expand opportunities for earlier treatment and improved outcomes. Galleri has been rigorously studied in case-controlled and interventional studies. This FDA submission marks a critical step toward making Galleri available to more people and advancing early detection to provide a significant public health benefit."

The PMA submission is focused on the test performance and safety results from 25,490 consented participants in the US-based PATHFINDER 2 study with one year of follow up and from the prevalent screening round (first year) of the NHS-Galleri trial, the largest, and only, randomized, controlled trial of any MCED test in an intended use population. The submission is also supported by a bridging analysis to compare performance of the version of Galleri used in the PATHFINDER 2 study and the NHS-Galleri trial to the updated PMA version that has been submitted to the FDA for premarket approval.

About the NHS-Galleri trial (NCT05611632)
The NHS-Galleri trial is the first and only prospective, randomized, controlled trial to assess the clinical utility and performance of a multi-cancer early detection test for population screening when added to standard care. The trial recruited more than 140,000 asymptomatic participants, aged 50 to 77, and was conducted in partnership with the NHS in England. Participants provided three blood samples over two years, about 12 months apart. The primary objective of the NHS-Galleri trial is to show a reduction in late-stage (III-IV) cancers in people who received the Galleri test compared with those who did not. This will be measured in three clinically important groups of cancers, focusing first in a pre-specified group of 12 cancer types that together represent approximately two-thirds of cancer deaths in England and the United States. Secondary objectives include reduction in stage IV cancer; performance of the Galleri test, including positive predictive value and false positive rate; cancer detection rate; safety; and healthcare resource utilization.

About the PATHFINDER 2 Study (NCT05155605)
PATHFINDER 2 is a prospective, multi-center, interventional study evaluating the safety and performance of Galleri in approximately 35,000 individuals aged 50 years and older who are eligible for guideline-recommended cancer screening in the United States. The primary objectives of the study are 1) to evaluate the safety and performance of the Galleri MCED test based on the number and type of diagnostic evaluations performed in participants who receive a cancer signal detected test result, and 2) to evaluate the performance of the Galleri MCED test across various measures, including PPV, negative predictive value (NPV), sensitivity, specificity, and CSO prediction accuracy. Participants who receive a cancer signal detected result undergo additional diagnostic testing based on the predicted CSO to determine if a cancer is present. Secondary objectives include utilization of guideline-recommended cancer screening procedures after use of the MCED test, and participant reported outcomes over several time points, including an assessment of participants’ anxiety and satisfaction with the MCED test.

(Press release, Grail, JAN 29, 2026, View Source [SID1234662360])