Guardant Health Inc (NASDAQ: GH) (FRA: 5GH) has teamed up with major Indian pharma operator Zydus Lifesciences Ltd (NSE: ZYDUSLIFE) to launch its Shield blood-based multi-cancer detection test in India. The move brings an innovative, minimally invasive screening option to a market in dire need of early detection tools.
This development came to light in a report from The Economic Times on May 5 after the publication spoke with Simranjit Singh, Guardant CEO in Asia, the Middle East and Africa. The partnership builds on an existing relationship between the two companies established in 2023 for deployment of Guardant’s solid tumour biopsy tests in India.
This new initiative complements that foundation by introducing Shield for earlier-stage, multi-cancer screening in the country. The partnership allows Guardant to reach patients through approximately 10 hospital chains, wellness centres and laboratories.
Shield uses a simple blood draw to detect multiple cancers. These include gastric, esophageal, liver, colorectal, ovarian, lung, pancreatic, bladder, breast and prostate. It detects cancer signals by identifying DNA shed by tumours into the bloodstream. This approach offers a far more convenient alternative to traditional screening methods and targets India’s challenge of late-stage diagnoses. Approximately 60 to 70 per cent of the nation’s cancers are caught too late.
In particular, Guardant has established itself as a leading influence in the lung cancer screening sector due to the test’s accuracy. This is particularly important in India due to the poor air quality in large cities like Delhi. In this sphere, the company stands alongside other innovators like bioAffinity Technologies Inc (NASDAQ: BIAF), Breath Diagnostics and BioMark Diagnostics Inc (OTCMKTS: BMKDF) (CNSX: BUX).
The India launch forms part of Guardant’s sizeable expansion across Asia. Guardant recently deployed the test in Hong Kong, Singapore and the Philippines through a partnership with insurance giant Manulife Financial Corp (TSE: MFC) (NYSE: MFC).
In March 2026, the company won the Oncology Product Innovation of the Year award at the Healthcare Asia Medtech Awards in Singapore for the Shield test. The test also recently received FDA Breakthrough Device Designation, a status that fast-tracks regulatory review for promising technologies addressing life-threatening conditions like cancer.
Read more: Breath Diagnostics advances pre-op pneumonia screening with FDA breakthrough designation
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