Natera, Inc. announced its expansion into the early cancer detection (ECD) market to advance the company's strategic growth objectives in emerging areas of ECD and screening. Alexey Aleshin, M.D., M.B.A., has been named general manager (GM) of ECD, where he will be responsible for strategy and execution for Natera's ECD products. Dr. Aleshin has previously held leadership roles overseeing Natera's oncology medical affairs and will continue to serve in that capacity while Natera conducts a search for a chief medical officer for oncology.

In November 2021, Natera announced exclusive access from Aarhus University to a biobank of up to 40,000 prospectively collected colorectal cancer screening samples for the development and validation of Natera's ECD products. This database of samples—the large known of its kind—may help accelerate the introduction of Natera's ECD products to market and potentially support key commercial milestones, including the launch of a laboratory developed test and approval from the FDA.