Akoya Biosciences Announces Groundbreaking Collaboration With PathAI to Combine Spatial Biology With AI-Powered Tools to Facilitate Discovery of Novel Predictive Biomarkers

Akoya Biosciences, Inc. and PathAI recently announced a collaboration to advance the discovery and validation of novel predictive biomarkers for immunotherapies. The partners will leverage their industry-leading capabilities in spatial biology and deep data mining using Phenoptics, Akoya’s high throughput spatial phenotyping platform, and PathAI’s artificial intelligence tools and algorithms to enhance their shared biopharmaceutical partners’ ability to identify patients most likely to respond to drugs in clinical trials.

Akoya will work with PathAI to create a seamless interface between the Advanced Biopharma Solutions (ABS) service offerings and PathAI’s analytical capabilities to provide a powerful and complete solution for biopharma partners. This partnership and ABS’ recent CLIA certification represent significant milestones in advancing Akoya’s ability to serve the growing demand for spatial biomarkers in clinical trials.

“The combined power of spatial phenotyping and high throughput data sets from Akoya and PathAI’s algorithms can accelerate the discovery of spatial phenotypic signatures in the tumor microenvironment,” said Dr. Andy Beck, CEO of PathAI. “This could streamline drug development to identify patients with a high likelihood of responding to immunotherapies.”

Discovery and validation of novel biomarkers could have particularly important near-term implications for improving the efficacy rates of immuno-oncology treatments, an area of medicine that is revolutionizing cancer treatment. Spatial biology is a rapidly emerging scientific discipline that enables deeper understanding of cancer immunology by analyzing the spatial architecture of tumor tissue sections and mapping the complex organization and interactions of tumor and immune cells within the tumor microenvironment. These insights streamline drug development, clinical trials, and biomarker discovery, and are currently being applied to immunotherapy research.

“This collaboration takes Akoya’s ABS offering to the next level by providing biopharma partners with a comprehensive offering that integrates the most advanced technologies and know how in the field of spatial biomarkers and digital pathology,” said Brian McKelligon, Chief Executive Officer of Akoya Biosciences. “The combination of our Phenoptics platform and PathAI’s AI-powered technology has the potential to transform biomarker use in clinical trials and ultimately impact cancer care.”

As The Spatial Biology Company, Akoya Biosciences’ mission is to bring context to the world of biology and human health through the power of spatial phenotyping. The company offers comprehensive single-cell imaging solutions that allow researchers to phenotype cells with spatial context and visualize how they organize and interact to influence disease progression and treatment response. Akoya offers two distinct solutions, the CODEX and Phenoptics platforms, to serve the diverse needs of researchers across discovery, translational and clinical research. For more information, visit www.akoyabio.com.

PathAI is a leading provider of AI-powered research tools and services for pathology. PathAI’s platform promises substantial improvements to the accuracy of diagnosis and the efficacy of treatment of diseases like cancer, leveraging modern approaches in machine and deep learning. Based in Boston, PathAI works with leading life sciences companies and researchers to advance precision medicine. For more information, visit pathai.com.