Truveta, a data company owned by 17 U.S. health systems, has entered a strategic partnership with Microsoft and selected the Redmond, Washington-based technology giant’s Azure service as its exclusive cloud platform.
Seattle-based Truveta is building a platform that will structure and normalize de-identified patient data from its member health systems. The platform will conduct data analysis that will provide insights into different types of conditions, treatments and outcomes, with the aim of supporting clinical decision making and drug development.
The company currently has access to data representing more than 15% of U.S. patient care across 40 states, according to the news release. It recently raised $95 million in a Series A funding round.
Per the new partnership, Truveta will build its data analysis platform on Microsoft Azure, leveraging the cloud computing service to extract insights from billions of de-identified data points, including medical records, images and genomics. The data is refreshed daily.
“Together with Microsoft, we’re working to accelerate saving lives with data and advancing health equity around the globe,” said Terry Myerson, CEO of Truveta, in the news release. “Our mission is to enable researchers to find cures faster, empower every clinician to be an expert and help families make the most informed decisions about their care.”
In addition to leveraging Azure for its platform, Truveta will work with Microsoft to scale the platform globally.
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.
“Microsoft will help Truveta bring its platform to market globally to accelerate the opportunity for researchers around the world to join the Truveta learning community and enable researchers to study the diversity of our planet and efficiently share health knowledge with everyone,” said Tom McGuinness, corporate vice president of global healthcare and life sciences at Microsoft, in an email.
Microsoft will introduce existing customers to Truveta’s platform and develop capabilities to increase its reach and grow Truveta’s membership, thereby increasing the amount of data available for analysis.
Further, Truveta will become a Microsoft Cloud for Healthcare partner, integrating its platform into Microsoft’s cloud services and providing data insights for precision medicine and clinical analytics.
“[The integration] will complement what Microsoft Cloud for Healthcare already offers to support the ever-evolving healthcare industry,” McGuinness said.
Microsoft Cloud for Healthcare offers healthcare-specific configurations, connectors and applications, technical support and access to its healthcare partner ecosystem, which includes companies like KPMG and Cognizant.
Microsoft and Truveta declined to release any specific deal terms, including if funds were invested and how long the partnership is expected to last.
Truveta was launched in February by 14 major health systems, including Tenet Healthcare in Dallas, Northwell Health in New Hyde Park, New York and Advocate Aurora Health in Milwaukee. Three more health systems joined as members in July.
Photo: Gerasimov174, Getty Images
