Singapore’s Lucence secures US Medicare approval for its cancer tests

BIOTECH startup Lucence has secured approval for its Singapore-invented cancer tests from Medicare, a US government-funded healthcare insurance programme primarily for people aged 65 years and older.

Medicare is one of the largest healthcare payers in the world, spending over US$900 billion in 2021. The green light marks the first time an Asian healthcare services provider has secured US national insurance approval, and opens doors for Lucence to be considered by other insurance providers in the US.

“It acts as a reference for other healthcare payers in the United States, which notes what the US government decides to cover,” said Dr Tan Min-Han, founder and chief executive officer, Lucence.

Lucence has headquarters in Singapore and Palo Alto, San Francisco. It credits various Singapore agencies and healthcare institutions for its success, from the Agency for Science, Technology and Research (A*Star) to Enterprise Singapore to the National Cancer Centre among others.

“This is a significant milestone for Lucence as it proves the quality, safety and effectiveness of the test that will allow Lucence’s test to impact more individuals and save lives. We are glad to see Singapore innovations make an impact globally,” said Soh Leng Wan, assistant chief executive officer (manufacturing and engineering), Enterprise Singapore.

The programme covers about 64 million people in the US and will reimburse patients for using Lucence’s blood test, LiquidHallmark, to detect lung cancer. In the US, there are about 150,000 new cases a year of advanced lung cancer in patients aged 65 and above.

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The blood test initially profiled 20 genes in blood, and has now expanded to 80 genes across 15 cancers. Results can aid in personalised cancer treatment for patients.

“I am very grateful for the crucial support for Lucence in its early years by A*Star’s key seeding of our company. With this approval, we are proud to usher in this future of Singapore’s major entry into biomedical success, together with Enterprise Singapore,” said Lucence’s Tan.