DELFI Diagnostics Secures Small Equity Down-Stroke From Merck's Innovation Fund, For Novel Blood-Based Cancer Diagnostic Tool Development...

Yes, this deal is plainly immaterial to Mother Merck (and it came through the captive Innovation Fund arm, to be clear), but it is a nice validation of the science DELFI is doing in Palo Alto.

The goal of course is to more rapidly, and accurately assess which patients will most benefit from emerging oncology treatments, including the Moderna vaccine candidate, and obviously. . . pembrolizumab. Here's the story, from a presser:

. . .The capital will accelerate and expand DELFI's development and commercialization of its cancer detection solutions. DELFI's fragmentomics technology applies artificial intelligence (AI) to whole-genome sequencing data to compare an individual's cell-free DNA (cfDNA) patterns and characteristics against populations with and without cancer.

"We are thrilled to enter this strategic agreement with the Merck Global Health Innovation Fund," said Susan Tousi, DELFI's Chief Executive Officer. "This investment will help propel our fragmentomics and AI technologies, with the potential to make a meaningful population-scale difference in detecting cancer early with high precision at a disruptive price."

"Early detection is key to improving outcomes for people with cancer," said David M. Rubin, Ph.D., Managing Director at Merck Global Health Innovation Fund. "We look forward to working with the DELFI leadership to build on the achievements to date and further expand lung cancer screening access."

DELFI has commercialized the FirstLook Lung test, which evaluates patterns of DNA fragments in the blood that reveal the presence of lung cancer. . . .

Now you know. Onward, grinning -- into some warm, sunny late Spring air. . . .

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