Worldwide forms strategic alliance with AI-driven Deep Lens

11-Mar-2019 - Last updated on 16-Aug-2019 at 19:56 GMT

(Image: Getty/andreypopov)

The oncology-focused alliance brings together Worldwide’s cancer research and clinical trial operations with Deep Lens’ Viper digital pathology platform.

The contract research organization (CRO) Worldwide Clinical Trials has formed a strategic alliance with Deep Lens, an AI-driven digital pathology company.

Dave Bowser, executive vice president and general manager of the global clinical development division, Worldwide Clinical Trials, said the goal is to enhance patient recruitment using near real-time diagnosis to alert the patient as well as the research and care teams.

“Going straight to the source can fast-track trial enrollment and potentially shorten the duration of the trial, and most importantly, expeditiously get treatment options to patients in critical need,” Bowser told us.

With the rate of participation reported as low as 3% of potential trial candidates – and more than 14,000 oncology trials are actively recruiting patients, Bowser said, “competition for patients is steep, awareness is low, and time is critical to match treatment options to the patient.”

Bringing what he calls a modernized, highly accurate, AI-driven pathology approach to the partnership, Simon Arkell, president and co-founder of Deep Lens, noted the need to access information sooner to enhance patient care and study recruitment.

“This includes accurate identification of eligible patients at the time of diagnosis (prior to physician review and whilst still in the pathology laboratory) – much sooner than current methods,” he told us.

Combining the companies’ respective clinical trial expertise with AI requires a synergistic approach, Arkell explained. “It affords the opportunity to embed two distinct disciplines into the fabric of the clinical workflow – clinical trial operations and acumen with enhanced AI insight and quality – again with the end goal of optimizing recruitment and treatment patterns through the quality of AI in diagnosis confirmation,” he said.

Arkell added, “We cannot stress how delighted we are to announce this innovative, first-in-class approach and alliance for digital pathology based AI for patient identification and recruitment.

“We’re confident in the positive impact this will afford the investigative and sponsor community, but most importantly, our patients as we strive to bring new therapies to market.”