Roche’s Foundation Medicine to Add Saga Diagnostics' MRD Platform Following $595M Acquisition
Foundation Medicine plans to combine Saga’s Pathlight technology with Roche's Axelios nanopore sequencing platform and Digital LightCycler PCR.
Foundation Medicine said it will integrate Saga Diagnostics’ tumor-informed molecular residual disease platform into its monitoring portfolio after parent company Roche entered into a definitive merger agreement to acquire Saga for up to $595 million.
At the center of the deal is Pathlight, SAGA’s MRD platform, which uses a proprietary combination of whole-genome sequencing and digital PCR to identify and track structural variants. Pathlight is currently covered by Medicare for cancer recurrence monitoring in early-stage breast cancer across all subtypes and is available to patients in the United States, excluding New York State.
“MRD is one of the fastest-growing areas within diagnostics and this technology provides us with a clinically available ultra-sensitive offering,” Dan Malarek, CEO of Foundation Medicine, said in a statement. “Pathlight has demonstrated strong clinical performance in breast and colorectal cancer, and we look forward to expanding its applicability across other tumor types and indications to improve the lives of even more patients.”
Once the deal is closed, Foundation Medicine said it will develop a decentralized MRD solution by combining Pathlight’s technology with Roche’s forthcoming Axelios nanopore sequencing platform and Digital LightCycler PCR.
Pathlight will join an existing monitoring portfolio at Foundation Medicine that includes FoundationOne Monitor, a circulating tumor DNA test that uses blood samples to track treatment response, and the company’s Tissue-Informed WGS MRD test, which monitors hundreds to thousands of tumor-specific short variants and is currently available for research use only.
Saga is based in North Carolina’s Research Triangle, however, it has Swedish origins as a spinout of Lund University.
The transaction is subject to customary closing conditions including regulatory approvals and is expected to close by Q3 2026 at the latest. Financial terms beyond the total consideration were not disclosed.