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Natera, has announced the completion of its acquisition of Foresight Diagnostics, a molecular oncology diagnostics company specializing in ultrasensitive detection of circulating tumor DNA (ctDNA) for measurable residual disease (MRD). The transaction incorporates Foresight’s patented PhasED-Seq™ technology into Natera’s MRD development pipeline, expanding the analytical scope of personalized assays in both solid tumors and hematologic malignancies, particularly B-cell lymphomas.
This acquisition reinforces Natera’s position at the forefront of precision oncology. Foresight’s phased variant technology and leadership in lymphoma complement Natera’s strong capabilities in personalized MRD testing, improving the value we can deliver to patients, clinicians, biopharma partners and the broader healthcare system.
Steve Chapman, chief executive officer of Natera
PhasED-Seq is based on detection of phased somatic variants derived from patient-specific tumor sequencing. In comparative analytical validation presented at the 2024 European Society for Medical Oncology (ESMO) Annual Meeting, the approach demonstrated a reported limit of detection of ~0.3 parts per million (ppm) with detection below 0.1 ppm in select applications, substantially extending sensitivity beyond conventional single-variant or unphased approaches to ctDNA MRD detection (Cabel et al., 2024).
Foresight’s mission has always been to improve the lives of cancer patients worldwide through innovative diagnostics. As we join Natera, I’m deeply grateful to our employees, partners and investors who have helped bring us to this moment. Together, we can realize this mission on a far greater scale, accelerating the pace of discovery across both hematologic and solid tumors.
Jake Chabon, Ph.D, Chief Executive Officer, Chief Scientific Officer, Founder, Foresight Diagnostics
Foresight, founded by physician-scientists at Stanford University, including Maximilian Diehn, Ash Alizadeh, David Kurtz, and company CEO Jake Chabon, has produced more than 40 scientific publications and presentations addressing incremental methodological advances in ctDNA detection and clinical correlates across lymphoid and solid tumor indications. The company operates as a CLIA-certified clinical laboratory, supporting both prospective trials and biopharma biomarker programs.
Natera plans to integrate phased-variant detection into its tumor-informed Signatera™ personalized MRD platform, extending its assay design beyond single-nucleotide variant tracking to multi-site, linkage-based molecular signatures. The company reports that the modified research-use platform is immediately available to academic and pharmaceutical collaborators, with anticipated clinical release targeted for 2026, pending regulatory validation and reimbursement review.
Phased-variant tracking is expected to enhance specificity and sensitivity across low-tumor-burden contexts commonly encountered in minimal residual disease monitoring following curative-intent therapy. By identifying co-occurring mutations on the same DNA fragment, the PhasED-Seq approach provides improved discrimination between tumor-derived DNA and background sequencing noise.
The acquisition formalizes Natera’s entry into lymphoma MRD monitoring, an area where Foresight has established clinical validation datasets. This includes studies in diffuse large B-cell lymphoma that contributed to the 2025 inclusion of ctDNA MRD testing recommendations in the NCCN Clinical Practice Guidelines for the disease. Foresight’s CLARITY™ MRD assay is currently being applied in three prospective, MRD-guided therapeutic trials evaluating the clinical utility of ctDNA dynamics for treatment adaptation.
Non-Hodgkin B-cell lymphomas account for more than 75,000 new diagnoses annually in the United States (American Cancer Society, 2025), representing a key clinical area where early relapse detection remains difficult with conventional imaging and biomarker approaches.