At the Insuretech Connect conference (ITC) in Las Vegas last year, I had the opportunity to meet with one of my clients, Munich Re. During our discussion they informed me about their partnership with GRAIL, a healthcare company whose mission is to detect cancer when it can be cured. This collaboration aims to introduce GRAIL’s groundbreaking Galleri® test, which is a multi-cancer early detection test, to the life insurance industry in the United States.
“As a leading life reinsurer, we believe we have a responsibility to society to help advance early detection and treatments that produce better outcomes for cancer patients. At Munich Re, we are incredibly proud to embark on this journey with GRAIL to bring its pioneering Galleri test to the life insurance industry.” Marc Giguere, president and CEO, Munich Re Life US.
The Galleri test, through a simple blood draw, has the capability to detect a signal shared by more than 50 cancer1 types and predict the tissue type or organ associated with the signal to help healthcare providers determine next steps. Galleri can do this by checking for more than 100,000 DNA regions and over a million specific DNA sites to screen for a signal shared by cancers that could be hiding.2 The test looks for cell-free DNA and identifies whether it comes from healthy or cancer cells. DNA from cancer cells has specific methylation patterns that identify it as a cancer signal. Methylation patterns also contain information about the tissue type or organ associated with the cancer signal to guide next steps.3
To be eligible for the test, individuals must meet certain criteria based on age or family history of cancer. Fortunately, I qualified on both counts and was also fortunate enough to get a prescription and receive a complimentary test. Last year my test results came back negative, which was a relief, but I plan to take the Galleri test annually.
Now, a year later, the progress that GRAIL and Munich Re have made is impressive. They have a number of partnerships underway, with M Financial and John Hancock being the most public. In February, John Hancock announced expanded access to customers participating in their Vitality PLUS program. The key takeaway here for me is that Munich Re, GRAIL, and its carrier partners are making headway in adopting Galleri into the life insurance industry. Meaning achieving milestones such as the cost-benefit of detecting cancer early, securing approval from state regulators and ultimately getting Galleri tests in the hands of policyholders. As an advocate of innovation, I’m thrilled to see this convergence of financial services and biotechnology resonate in our industry and with our clients.
“The initial pilot exceeded our expectations in terms of the number of tests requested, validating our hypothesis that our customers want access to this level of insight into their health. It was always our intention to expand beyond the pilot phase and we are thrilled to see this version come to life.” Brooks Tingle, president and CEO, John Hancock.
So, what drove this unique collaboration between GRAIL and Munich Re? In my view, the goal of anyone in the life insurance industry should be to help their clients live a long and healthy life. And here is the key point—the Galleri test represents an opportunity to impact the status quo of cancer and potentially the life of the insured. Today, there are five recommended cancer screening tests4 and around 70 percent of cancer deaths are caused by cancers without recommended screenings.5 Adding Galleri can help screen for more cancers, including cancers that do not have recommended screening.1,6
This gap in recommended screenings relative to cancer deaths is the key opportunity for the life insurance industry. Also consider that over 600,000 American lives are lost to cancer each year,7 which was exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic when 9.4 million people missed their cancer screenings in the U.S. according to American Cancer Society. That was just in 2020.
This backdrop of cancer gives way to the strategy of Munich Re and GRAIL for life insurance. In a Munich Re published article titled Changing the future of cancer mortality, they state that, “By drastically increasing the number of cancers that can be detected through screening, Galleri® has the potential to transform the future of cancer detection leading to early intervention and higher rates of survival. Partnering with GRAIL, the life insurance industry has an opportunity to improve mortality by bringing early cancer detection testing to a large population of life insurance policyholders.” Munich Re also includes the following benefits in offering Galleri: Mortality reduction for in-force populations, sales growth in competitive channels, stronger policyholder engagement and enhanced brand positioning.
This breakthrough ability to screen for more cancers has not gone unnoticed. TIME included the Galleri test in its annual list of the Best Inventions, which features 200 extraordinary innovations changing our lives. TIME’s editors wrote: “The result is a list of 200 groundbreaking inventions (and 50 special mention inventions)—including life-mapping artificial intelligence, diamonds made from excess carbon in the air, and the most powerful telescope ever—that are changing how we live, work, play, and think about what’s possible.”
Another aspect of Galleri that’s worth noting is the user experience, as obviously not everyone is getting a comped test at ITC like me. Patients can request Galleri online through an independent telemedicine provider from PWNHealth. If prescribed, a Galleri kit is shipped and then a blood draw needs to be completed through one of GRAIL’s laboratory partners or they can request a phlebotomist to come to their home. The test results then are available in about two weeks after the sample is received at the GRAIL lab. This means with Galleri you can get screened for a cancer signal shared by over 50 cancers without leaving your home. To me this is such a win from a consumer experience perspective.
How are the results delivered? There are two possible test results: No Cancer Signal Detected or Cancer Signal Detected. If Galleri detects a cancer signal, the result will include one or two Cancer Signal Origins which predict the tissue type or organ associated with the cancer signal. Results are communicated electronically or from the healthcare provider that prescribed the test.
GRAIL will be showcasing their advancements at the upcoming NAILBA Annual Conference in November, where they will also be delivering a presentation. I had the opportunity to meet with the GRAIL team, who provided me with additional information about this first-of-its-kind multi-cancer early detection (MCED) test and its integration into the life insurance industry. If you want to learn more or hear from some industry leaders about Galleri and life insurance, go check out https://www.Galleri.com/LifeInsurance.
More to come, stay tuned!
References:
- Klein EA, Richards D, Cohn A, et al. Clinical validation of a targeted methylation-based multi-cancer early detection test using an independent validation set.Ann Oncol. 2021;32(9):1167-77. DOI:https://doi.org/10.1016/j.annonc.2021.05.806.
- Liu MC, Oxnard GR, Klein EA; et al. for CCGA Consortium. Sensitive and specific multi-cancer detection and localization using methylation signatures in cell-free DNA. Ann Oncol. 2020;31(6):745-759. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.annonc.2020.02.011.
- Thierry A, El Messaoudi S, Gahan P, et al. Origins, structures, and functions of circulating DNA in oncology. Cancer Metastasis Rev. 2016;35:347–76. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10555-016-9629-x.
- US Preventive Services Task Force. Recommendations Cancer. Accessed 7Mar2023. https://www.uspreventiveservicestaskforce.org/uspstf/topic_search_results.
- American Cancer Society. Cancer Facts & Figures 2022. Atlanta: American Cancer Society; 2022 https://www.cancer.org/research/cancer-facts-statistics/all-cancer-facts-figures/cancer-facts-figures-2022.html. Data on file GA-2021-0065.
- Schrag D, McDonnall CH, Naduld L, et al. PATHFINDER: A Prospective Study of a Multi-Cancer Early Detection Blood Test. Presentation at European Society of Medical Oncology (ESMO) Congress September 9-13, 2022; Paris, France.
- Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Health and Economic Costs of Chronic Diseases. https://www.cdc.gov/chronicdisease/about/costs/index.htm.
