Pillar Biosciences, a provider of next-generation sequencing (NGS) technology, announced an expansion of its existing laboratory access program with AstraZeneca on December 8th, 2025. The collaboration, which intends to provide access to NGS-based kitted liquid biopsy tumor profiling, will now include China. Additionally, according to a company press release, AstraZeneca and Pillar will collaborate with Shanghai Zhengu Biological Technologies to support assay validation in local hospital laboratories and facilitate implementation of Pillar’s liquid biopsy panels.
Pillar and AstraZeneca originally entered into this strategic partnership in September 2024, with an initial focus on the UK and European markets. According to the release announcing the original partnership, Pillar offers testing technologies that can interrogate both circulating cell-free tumor DNA and circulating cell-free tumor RNA. The tests are designed to be performable in any laboratory, with a sample-to-report time of less than three days.
“Expanding access to decentralized, high-quality molecular testing is critical to improving outcomes for cancer patients,” said Dan Harma, CEO, Pillar Biosciences, in the most recent press release. “By enabling local laboratories to perform in-house next-generation sequencing, we can reduce turnaround times, lower costs, and ensure that oncologists have faster access to actionable insights that guide personalized treatment decisions.”
“We are committed to expanding global patient access to biomarker testing, and decentralized NGS solutions are key to this strategy,” said John Longshore, Head of Scientific Affairs, Global Oncology Diagnostics, AstraZeneca, in the press release announcing the original partnership. “These kit-based methods allow a broad range of laboratories to perform high-quality NGS testing, which improves patient access to targeted therapies. Pillar Biosciences sequencing panels provide rapid, simplified NGS workflows and bioinformatics, which are ideal to supporting our global efforts.”
According to the release, China faces one of the world’s highest cancer burdens, accounting for approximately 24% of global cancer rates and 30% of cancer-related deaths. By increasing localized liquid biopsy testing, the collaboration aims to support China’s ongoing initiative to enhance early cancer detection, precision diagnostics, and equitable access to targeted therapies.
