About Us
We harness the power of epigenomics to detect cancer early by measuring dynamic changes in a patient’s biology.
Bluestar Genomics is spearheading the development and commercialization of epigenomic non-invasive cancer tests to detect the deadliest cancers earlier than existing methods. Starting with pancreatic cancer, our aim with these tests is to detect the disease early when therapies are most effective.
Our proprietary epigenomic platform combines a unique hydroxy-methylation based liquid biopsy assay with highly sophisticated bioinformatics and machine learning to identify biomarkers and detect cancer signals in a person’s dynamic, ever-changing biology.
We partner with clinicians including primary care physicians and specialists who can administer these tests to their patients who are at high risk for developing certain types of cancer. With locations in San Diego and the San Francisco Bay Area, our collaborators include scientists and technologists at the regions’ top research institutions, as well as multiple Fortune 500 pharmaceutical companies.
Our mission is to develop and commercialize disease-specific and targeted multi-cancer epigenomic tests for early cancer detection.
Our History
Inspired by patients and the discovery of a unique 5-hydroxymethylcytosine (5hmC) biomarker, Bluestar Genomics was founded out of the Stanford laboratory of Steve Quake, D.Phil., to develop non-invasive epigenomic tests to detect cancer through a standard blood draw earlier than existing methods and when the disease is still treatable.
- Large study results reported at AACR Special Conference on Pancreatic Cancer Validate 5hmC-based Algorithm for Early Detection of Pancreatic cancer.
- Company’s first oral presentation at ESMO highlights expansion of 5hmC technology platform into tumor tissue analysis.
- Data presentation at AGBT Precision Health shows promise of Bluestar Genomics’ technology as ovarian cancer detection tool.
- Sam Levy, PhD, named Top 50 influencer in life sciences by the San Diego Business Journal.
- San Diego lab receives official CLIA license; first clinical sample tested.
- Bluestar Genomics presented positive results of its pancreatic cancer test performance evaluation at 2022 ASCO GI Cancers Symposium.
- Bluestar Genomics debuted at J.P. Morgan Health Care Conference.
- Bluestar Genomics appointed David Mullarkey as Chief Executive Officer.
- Performance of the company's pancreatic cancer test published in medRxiv.
- Analytical performance data for pancreatic cancer signal detection presented at the American Pancreatic Association annual meeting.
- Company initiated commercialization efforts with the appointment of Jim Vaughn as Chief Commercial Officer.
- Bluestar Genomics raised $70 million in equity funding and added two prominent scientific and clinical advisors: Craig Venter, Ph.D., and Felix Feng, M.D.
- The FDA awarded Bluestar Genomics with a Breakthrough Device Designation for a one-of-its-kind assay for patients newly diagnosed with diabetes and at risk for pancreatic cancer.
- Bluestar Genomics and the University of Chicago published the first complete genome map of key biomarkers for detection of cancer and other diseases.
- Nature Communications published a study demonstrating Bluestar Genomics’ epigenomic approach delivered a proof-of-concept for early cancer detection paving the way for next-generation liquid biopsy tests.
- San Diego-based laboratory became fully automated.
- Bluestar Genomics presented new data demonstrating feasibility of a novel blood test for earlier detection and classification of multiple cancers.
- Laboratory opened at the company headquarters in San Diego, California.
- Several development studies began through multiple collaborations.
- Sam Levy, Ph.D., joined the company as Chief Scientific Officer bringing decades of scientific and executive leadership expertise in genomics and molecular diagnostic development.
- Stephen Quake, D. Phil, and his team discovered the viability of monitoring 5-hydroxymethylcytosine (5hmC) levels in cell-free DNA (cfDNA) by sequencing blood samples from patients with different cancers.
- Quake co-founded Bluestar Genomics to develop next-generation liquid biopsy tests to address some of the deadliest cancers by detecting cancer signals earlier than existing methods.