Roche Expands AI-driven Cancer Diagnostics with Key Collaborations

This development, announced in Tucson, Arizona, aims to enhance pathologists' tools for cancer diagnosis and research, offering more precise insights and supporting targeted treatment options.

Roche has announced the expansion of its digital pathology open environment, integrating over 20 advanced AI algorithms from eight new collaborators. 

This development aims to enhance pathologists' tools for cancer diagnosis and research, offering more precise insights and supporting targeted treatment options.

The move is part of Roche’s ongoing effort to integrate AI-driven solutions into its digital pathology platform, navify Digital Pathology enterprise software. Pathologists now access various advanced algorithms designed to enhance cancer diagnosis and research through these collaborations. 

Furthermore, integrating these tools is seamless, providing pathologists and scientists with the latest AI technology to support their work in precision medicine.

Roche has partnered with eight companies, each contributing specialized algorithms to enhance cancer diagnostic capabilities. Deep Bio’s algorithm focuses on detecting and grading prostate cancer, while DiaDeep offers AI tools for quantifying breast cancer biomarkers. 

Lunit provides tumor proportion score (TPS) analysis for non-small cell lung cancer. Mindpeak specializes in breast cancer biomarkers and pan-tumour PD-L1 analysis for various cancers, including lung, gastric, esophageal, and bladder cancers.

Owkin contributes an algorithm for screening microsatellite stability in colorectal cancer, while Qritive offers solutions for prostate cancer screening and grading, colon cancer screening, and analyzing lymph nodes for metastasis. 

Sonrai Analytics brings a tool for determining microsatellite instability (MSI) status in colorectal cancer, and Stratipath provides an AI solution for risk profiling of invasive breast cancer.

AI Supporting Precision Medicine

Roche’s navify Digital Pathology enterprise software integrates these algorithms into a streamlined system that is accessible and user-friendly for pathologists. 

This digital pathology solution facilitates the use of third-party AI tools, supporting pathologists in offering more accurate and timely cancer diagnoses and ultimately benefiting patients through personalized healthcare and precision treatments.

Jill German, head of the pathology lab at Roche Diagnostics, said, “By combining our leadership in tissue diagnostics with a broad offering of state-of-the-art AI technology, we aim to revolutionize cancer research, diagnostics, and treatment, ultimately helping clinicians improve patients' lives worldwide.”

Impact on Cancer Diagnosis & Research

The platform supports an end-to-end workflow, from tissue staining to producing high-quality digital images, which are then analyzed using AI-based clinical image analysis algorithms. 

This technology minimizes variables in the diagnostic process, providing pathologists with consistent and reliable results.

Integrating AI technology in pathology will lead to more precise cancer diagnoses, enabling healthcare providers to offer more targeted treatments. 

The algorithms embedded in Roche’s platform provide specific insights into cancer biomarkers, tumor proportions, and metastasis, all of which are critical for determining the best course of treatment for patients. By offering these tools, Roche aims to improve diagnostic accuracy and support the delivery of precision medicine.

As the world’s largest biotechnology company, Roche continues to advance cancer diagnostics. Its digital pathology solution provides clinicians the tools to deliver accurate, timely, and personalized care to cancer patients.