Grail says about 400 patients incorrectly informed they may have cancer

[June 03, 2023]  (Reuters) -Cancer test maker Grail Inc said on Friday that its telemedicine vendor erroneously sent letters to about 400 patients suggesting they may have developed cancer.

Grail's flagship cancer detection blood test Galleri is designed to detect more than 50 types of cancer before symptoms appear.

The company, owned by Illumina Inc, said the letters were mistakenly sent by PWNHealth due to a software issue and that it "was in no way related to or caused by an incorrect Galleri test result".

Grail said it had reached out to the patients immediately after the issue, adding that no patient health information has been disclosed or breached due to this.

The software issue being faced by PWNHealth has now been resolved, it said.

Illumina's global headquarters is pictured in San Diego, California, U.S., November, 28, 2022. REUTERS/Mike Blake

Illumina is currently appealing regulatory orders in the U.S. and EU, which are asking the gene sequencing company to divest Grail after it jumped regulators to close its acquisition of the cancer test maker.

(Reporting by Mariam Sunny in Bengaluru; Editing by Shilpi Majumdar)

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