Proscia image analysis, digital pathology
Proscia has inked a deal with a dermatopathology laboratory in a move designed to support its launch of the industry’s first comprehensive dermatopathology-specific digital pathology product in the fourth quarter of 2018, according to a press release.
Proscia develops AI-driven, image-based assays for clinical partners in academic medical centers, diagnostic laboratories, and other institutions. The business has released image analysis modules targeting prostate, breast, and skin cancer for research use.
Proscia’s development of an AI module for dermatopathology began last year, initially with four disease states but the company later added 18 more when the business was convinced of its accuracy and because it had the development capability.
A spokeswoman for Proscia noted in response to emailed questions that the upcoming dermatopathology module is significant because it’s the specialty with the largest number of cases by volume (70 percent).
“Within this derm module, 22 disease states will be analyzed with this software. Proscia is also working on other non-derm disease states in parallel that we will announce in a few months,” she said.
Proscia Cofounder and CEO David West said in the announcement that the company’s move comes at a critical time for the pathology industry.
A Deep-dive Into Specialty Pharma
A specialty drug is a class of prescription medications used to treat complex, chronic or rare medical conditions. Although this classification was originally intended to define the treatment of rare, also termed “orphan” diseases, affecting fewer than 200,000 people in the US, more recently, specialty drugs have emerged as the cornerstone of treatment for chronic and complex diseases such as cancer, autoimmune conditions, diabetes, hepatitis C, and HIV/AIDS.
“The number of pathologists in the U.S. is decreasing, while the need for biopsies is skyrocketing due to incidences of skin cancer steadily rising over the past two decades. The dermatology market presents a significant opportunity to transform laboratory economics and improve patient outcomes in the fight against cancer, and we are excited to build similar relationships with labs embracing this next era of digital and computational pathology.”
Proscia has embraced the use of machine learning as a way to make image analysis more efficient. West noted in an interview last year that there is more work that’s needed to be done in pathology than there are people to do it. The company has built a storage and distribution infrastructure to house its image analysis products. Since then it’s been developing image analysis tools to streamline the pathology assessment and diagnosis process and make it more efficient.
The company raised a seed round of funding in 2016. Among its investors are Emerald Development Managers, Robin Hood Ventures, TCP Venture Capital and A-Level Capital.
