The European Commission’s Directorate-General for Competition announced today that it will review Illumina’s proposed $8 billion acquisition of Grail.
The move, covered in media reports, comes weeks after the companies delayed the deal until after Sept. 20 while the U.S. Federal Trade Commission challenges the deal.
Grail is one of several companies competing to develop liquid biopsy tests, which rely on DNA sequencing of blood or other bodily fluids to detect cancer early. Illumina, which previously spun out Grail in 2016, is a provider of DNA sequencing and array-based technologies. Regulators worry that Grail’s competitors in the multi-cancer early detection test space have too much reliance on Illumina technology.
Illumina officials said today that they are sticking by plans to proceed with the deal.
“Reuniting GRAIL and Illumina will allow us to bring Grail’s breakthrough early detection multi-cancer test to patients across the world faster and consequently save lives,” Illumina CEO Francis deSouza said in a news release. “We do not believe that the European authorities have jurisdiction to review the Grail acquisition and look forward to resolving this matter expeditiously.”
