Veracyte, Inc.

Veracyte aims to give patients a verifiable diagnosis, with as little discomfort as possible. The company provides molecular cytology tests that use cell samples taken with a needle, instead of tissue samples obtained through a biopsy. Its first commercial product, Afirma Thyroid FNA, is marketed to endocrinologists as a test to diagnose thyroid cancer. (Thyroid diagnostic tests previously required surgery and hormone replacement therapy and still gave uncertain results.) Veracyte's second product, launched in 2015, is the Percepta Bronchial Genomic Classifier, which can help diagnose lung cancer. In late 2016, the firm launched a test to help diagnose idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis, one of the most common interstitial lung diseases.