Transaction is part of wide-ranging
collaboration to combine Quest's oncology expertise and scale with
PathAI's AI and digital pathology innovations to speed diagnosis,
improve quality and reduce costs
SECAUCUS, N.J. and BOSTON, May 1, 2024
/PRNewswire/ -- Quest Diagnostics (NYSE: DGX), a leader in
diagnostic information services, and PathAI, a global provider of
artificial intelligence-powered technology for pathology, today
announced a multi-faceted collaboration designed to accelerate the
adoption of digital and AI pathology innovations to improve
quality, speed and efficiency in diagnosing cancer and other
diseases.
Under the terms of a definitive agreement, Quest will acquire
select assets of PathAI Diagnostics, the business of PathAI that
provides anatomic and digital pathology laboratory services. At
closing, PathAI Diagnostics' state-of-the-art digitized laboratory
in Memphis, Tennessee will become
Quest's AI and digital R&D and solutions center, supporting
Quest's specialty pathology businesses, AmeriPath and Dermpath
Diagnostics. PathAI will continue to support its biopharmaceutical
clients with end-to-end clinical trial services capabilities at its
biopharma lab, which is separate and distinct from the diagnostic
laboratory business. The transaction is expected to be completed in
the second quarter of 2024.
Under separate agreements, Quest will license PathAI's AISight™
digital pathology image management system to support its pathology
laboratories and customer sites in the
United States. The two entities may also pursue
opportunities for Quest to aid PathAI's algorithm product
development, drawing on Quest's deep pathology leadership. In
addition, Quest will be a preferred provider for PathAI's
biopharmaceutical clinical laboratory
services.
"This transaction will enable Quest to dramatically ramp our
capabilities in AI and digital pathology, building on our
leadership in oncology and subspecialized pathology services," said
Kristie Dolan, Senior Vice
President, Oncology, Quest Diagnostics. "AI and digital
technologies have tremendous potential to improve cancer care, and
Quest has the know-how to scale and deliver innovations that are
high quality, efficient and broadly accessible. PathAI has
industry-leading expertise in AI pathology innovation, and their
state-of-the-art digitized laboratory in Memphis provides a platform for future
growth."
"At Quest Diagnostics, we are committed to maximizing patient
impact from every precious sample," said Mark Gardner, Senior Vice President, Molecular
Genomics and Oncology, Quest Diagnostics. "The relationship with
PathAI and acquisition of PathAI Diagnostics will enable us to
rapidly accelerate the adoption of digitization and artificial
intelligence for our market leading pathology offering, and will
therefore strengthen our capability to serve patients across the
entire continuum of oncology care, from diagnosis, to prognosis, to
therapy selection and patient monitoring."
"This strategic relationship represents a significant milestone
for the anatomic pathology industry and marks a major turning point
for digital pathology adoption in the U.S. The adoption of these
technologies by an organization with the scale and breadth of
capabilities of Quest is a clear demonstration of how PathAI's
cutting-edge solutions can help address the market's need for more
efficient and high-quality pathology operations," said Andy Beck, MD PhD, co-Founder and CEO of PathAI.
"The PathAI Diagnostics laboratory in Memphis will allow Quest to accelerate its
digital journey with an already digitized laboratory."
According to the American Cancer Society, 2024
will be the first year that the United
States expects more than 2 million new cases of cancer.
The global cancer burden is expected to reach 28.4 million
cases in 2040, compared to 19.3 million in 2020, according to the
International Agency for Research on Cancer.
The next phase in cancer innovation unlocked by
digital pathology
Cancer and other diseases are often diagnosed by
a pathologist based on a visual review of a biopsied tissue mounted
on a glass slide, and reviewed under a microscope for
abnormalities. If multiple pathologists need to view the slide,
such as for a second opinion, the tissue biopsy must be physically
couriered to another pathologist.
Digital pathology enables the creation of digital
images of glass slides that can be securely shared electronically
with other pathologists to view, reducing transportation needs and
speeding testing and results reporting. It also has the advantage
of extending access to expert consults to geographic areas where
pathologists are in short supply, such as in parts of rural America
and internationally. It may also help alleviate workforce pressures
due to a shortage of pathologists and histotechnologists, the
skilled laboratory professionals who prepare tissue slides.
"Digital pathology will strengthen our ability to offer flexible
solutions that fulfill the needs of today's hospital laboratories.
For instance, many hospital labs are facing a shortage of
histotechs. With digital pathology, these labs can refer slide
preparation to us while continuing to perform professional
interpretation in-house," Ms. Dolan added. "Digital pathology will
also allow us to extend the interpretative expertise of our roughly
400 pathologists to hospitals and other labs who lack these skilled
professionals on-staff, regardless of location."
AI builds upon digital pathology by identifying
patterns in a digitized image that suggest cancer or other
diseases, helping a pathologist concentrate on areas of concern for
potentially more accurate diagnosis.
Quest has a long history of strategic AI and automation
deployment. The company has implemented AI, digital and automation
technologies across several laboratory and business functions, from
microbiology and cytogenetics to specimen processing and customer
service, improving quality, efficiency and customer and employee
experiences.
The transaction also builds on Quest's deep expertise and scale
in cancer, with approximately 400 pathologists serving top health
systems in the U.S. In recent years, Quest has piloted digital and
AI pathology oncology solutions at Quest and AmeriPath sites in
Clifton, NJ, Tampa and Denver.
Over time, Quest expects the transaction with PathAI will enable
it to deploy flexible digital slide preparation and diagnostic and
second opinion consultation services to health systems and other
providers, both in the United
States and, through its Global Diagnostic Network, overseas.
The acquisition will also extend Quest's anatomic pathology
services into comparatively more profitable areas, including
dermatopathology as well as gastrointestinal and urological
diseases. Provider customers of PathAI Diagnostics will benefit
from access to Quest's industry-leading clinical test menu, broad
health plan relationships and approximately 2,000 patient service
centers in the U.S.
About Quest Diagnostics
Quest Diagnostics works across
the healthcare ecosystem to create a healthier world, one life at a
time. We provide diagnostic insights from the results of our
laboratory testing to empower people, physicians and organizations
to take action to improve health outcomes. Derived from one of the
world's largest databases of deidentified clinical lab results,
Quest's diagnostic insights reveal new avenues to identify and
treat disease, inspire healthy behaviors and improve healthcare
management. Quest Diagnostics annually serves one in three adult
Americans and half the physicians and hospitals in the United States, and our nearly 50,000
employees understand that, in the right hands and with the right
context, our diagnostic insights can inspire actions that transform
lives and create a healthier
world. www.QuestDiagnostics.com.
About PathAI
PathAI is dedicated to improving patient
outcomes through its groundbreaking AI-powered pathology platform.
Our solutions provide invaluable insights for biopharmaceutical
companies, researchers, and pathology laboratories, ultimately
enabling precision pathology and the vision of more effective
diagnosis and treatments. Learn more at www.pathai.com.
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SOURCE Quest Diagnostics