On March 28, 2023 Biocom California, the association representing the life science industry of California, reported the following statement regarding their application to intervene in support of Illumina’s challenge to the European Commission’s jurisdiction over the acquisition of GRAIL (Press release, Illumina, MAR 28, 2023, View Source [SID1234629473]). The statement can be attributed to Joe Panetta, Biocom California’s president and CEO:

Schedule your 30 min Free 1stOncology Demo!
Discover why more than 1,500 members use 1stOncology™ to excel in:

Early/Late Stage Pipeline Development - Target Scouting - Clinical Biomarkers - Indication Selection & Expansion - BD&L Contacts - Conference Reports - Combinatorial Drug Settings - Companion Diagnostics - Drug Repositioning - First-in-class Analysis - Competitive Analysis - Deals & Licensing

                  Schedule Your 30 min Free Demo!

"The European Court of Justice has granted Biocom California’s application to intervene in support of Illumina’s challenge to the European Commission’s jurisdiction over the acquisition of GRAIL. As the court recognized, Biocom California has a ‘direct, existing interest in the outcome’ of the case. The EU’s expanded approach to reviewing mergers, if upheld by the court, will make it more difficult for small, new and growing businesses to find investors, due to the unpredictability inherent in the new interpretation. Innovation in the life sciences will suffer as a result. The acquisition of GRAIL will allow Illumina to accelerate the availability and affordability of GRAIL’s multi-cancer early detection test, transforming the landscape of cancer detection on a global scale and ultimately save lives. As a leader and advocate for more than 1,700 life science companies, Biocom California strongly believes enabling this acquisition would ensure the growth and development of our innovation ecosystem, and ultimately improve the lives of patients.