Diagnostics company Summit Biolabs Inc stated on Wednesday that it plans to conduct research, development and commercialization of saliva liquid-biopsy tests for early cancer detection and diagnosis of COVID-19 and other viral contagions under a broad strategic collaboration with the Colorado Center for Personalized Medicine (CCPM) at the University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus.

The CCPM reportedly holds one of the largest research biobanks in the US with clinical data from more than 8.7m de-identified patient records and plans to integrate the data with personalized genomic information.

Using simple, non-invasive saliva liquid-biopsy technology developed by Dr Shi-Long Lu and colleagues at the University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus, Summit Biolabs is developing breakthrough tests to improve the detection of COVID-19 and to advance the early detection of human cancers, including head & neck cancer.

In conjunction, Summit Biolabs' research foundation and competency in head & neck cancer diagnosis enabled the company's pivot to saliva-based testing for COVID-19.