Using procurement to innovate cancer diagnostics
Liquid biopsy, which analyses tumour DNA circulating in the patient’s blood, has opened up new possibilities for profiling cancer without relying on tissue samples alone. But barriers stand in the way of its widespread clinical adoption in Europe. “Circulating tumour DNA diagnostic testing is transforming genomic medicine, but several needs remain unmet or partially met, including sensitivity, and sustainable cost among other things,” says oncNGS(opens in new window) project coordinator Marc Van den Bulcke, head of the Cancer Centre at the Belgian national public health institute Sciensano(opens in new window).
Defining the problem
The project was built around a buyers’ group of eight hospitals and public health organisations from five EU countries: Sciensano and Institut Jules Bordet in Belgium, Institut Curie and Hospices Civils de Lyon in France, Charité Universitätsmedizin and Ludwig Maximilians Universität München in Germany, Alleanza Contro il Cancro in Italy and Institut Català d’Oncologia in Spain. OncNGS pursued a pre-commercial procurement(opens in new window) (PCP) model, asking suppliers to develop new solutions that could meet their clearly defined clinical needs. The consortium first agreed on the main requirements for next-generation sequencing (NGS) testing, that included sensitivity, turnaround time, affordability, data sharing and different deployment models. And after assessing what was already available, they launched an open market consultation to see whether suppliers could meet those needs. The results then shaped the call for tender which led to the first development phase.
From requirements to testing
In Phase 1, four suppliers worked on possible solution designs. Three of them then moved into Phase 2, where they built and tested prototypes over the next 12 months. Two shortlisted systems from Agilent Technologies Belgium(opens in new window) and KU Leuven(opens in new window) moved into Phase 3, which focused on how the NGS testing systems would work in practice. The prototypes were deployed and tested both at the suppliers’ facilities and across seven pilot sites, including the Institut Català d’Oncologia in Spain, Hospices Civils de Lyon in France and the Institut Jules Bordet in Belgium among others. The systems were trialled using real clinical samples, alongside the hospitals’ own staff and existing sequencing methods. The objective was to evaluate performance, and also to assess whether the systems were technically, financially and commercially feasible in practice. “We wanted to develop a solution that could be used in different settings and fit the needs of hospitals in practice,” adds Van den Bulcke.
The path to adoption
The longer-term goal of oncNGS isn’t only to improve testing, leading to better treatment for patients, but to make it easier to use in hospitals and more sustainable for public health systems. The project’s final event(opens in new window), held in Brussels in April 2026, presented both the technical foundations and the clinical value of the work, including input from Agilent Technologies Belgium and KU Leuven whose systems were tested in the pilots. The project has shown how public buyers can work together across borders to shape the development of better cancer diagnostics. Early Phase 3 results are also encouraging: The tests developed by Agilent Technologies Belgium and KU Leuven are both working well, and appear to detect more treatment-relevant cancer-related genetic changes than the smaller tests currently used do. If confirmed, these could give patients access to more and better treatment options. “Better access to broad tumour profiling can mean better diagnosis and, where treatments are available, more options for patients,” concludes Van den Bulcke.
