Bengaluru company brings affordable blood test for cancer to market

Strand's tests will be sold for $310, while similar technology in the US costs more than $3,000

A small Indian company launched on Tuesday a blood test to detect a wide range of cancers at a fraction of the cost of similar diagnostics available in the United States.

Bengaluru-based Strand Life Sciences' test is designed to decode genetic information, which in turn will assist doctors to match patients with treatments most likely to help with their particular type of cancer — an approach that is increasingly becoming the medical norm.

Strand's tests will be sold for 20,000 rupees ($310), while similar technology in the United States costs more than $3,000.

Normal and cancerous cells shed DNA into the blood when