Cirina

Cirina, founded in 2014, was a biotechnology firm specializing in the development of blood-plasma diagnostic tests for the early detection of cancer. The company was co-founded by Professor Dennis Lo, a molecular biologist renowned for his pioneering work in non-invasive prenatal testing, along with his long-time collaborators from the Chinese University of Hong Kong (CUHK), Rossa Chiu and Allen Chan. The lead investor was Decheng Capital.

Professor Lo's journey began in the late 1980s while he was a medical student at Oxford. His research into non-invasive prenatal testing led him to the groundbreaking discovery in 1997 that cell-free fetal DNA could be detected in a pregnant mother's blood plasma. This discovery revolutionized prenatal genetic testing and is now used globally. Lo hypothesized that a similar phenomenon occurred with cancer, where tumors release DNA into a patient's bloodstream. This insight formed the scientific basis for Cirina. The company's core technology focused on analyzing epigenetic markers on this circulating cell-free DNA to identify the presence of cancer and determine the tumor's site of origin.

Headquartered in Hong Kong with research and development teams in both Hong Kong and South San Francisco, Cirina operated in the life sciences and oncology markets. Its business model was centered on creating and commercializing these highly sensitive diagnostic assays to enable early intervention and improve patient outcomes. In May 2017, in a significant milestone, Cirina merged with GRAIL, Inc., a well-funded US-based life sciences company with a similar mission to detect cancer early. This strategic combination was designed to merge Cirina's scientific expertise, particularly its focus on cancers common in Asia, with GRAIL's substantial resources for large-scale clinical trials and commercialization. Following the merger, Cirina became a subsidiary of GRAIL, and Dennis Lo joined GRAIL's scientific advisory board as a scientific co-founder. Keywords: Cirina, Dennis Lo, cancer diagnostics, liquid biopsy, early cancer detection, cell-free DNA, plasma-based diagnostics, non-invasive testing, biotechnology, oncology, GRAIL, Rossa Chiu, Allen Chan, Decheng Capital, molecular diagnostics, epigenetic markers, tumor detection, non-invasive prenatal testing, life sciences, Hong Kong biotech