Listen "July 2025 Digital Pathology Roundup"
Episode Synopsis
Here is the July 2025 Digital Pathology Roundup with Imogen Fitt of Signify Research.
Partnerships:
Owkin launched a 5-year partnership with Newcastle Upon Tyne Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust to apply agentic AI across drug discovery, development, and diagnostics. First up: an AI tool to screen for gBRCA mutations in breast cancer, with Newcastle running validation studies and contributing multimodal data via Owkin’s ATLANTIS network (20 institutions across 7 countries, 11 therapeutic areas.
Lunit teamed with Microsoft to broaden access to cancer-detection AI through Azure-based model fine-tuning and agentic workflow tools; this follows Lunit’s growing DP footprint (e.g., SCOPE PD-L1 TPS integrating with Roche’s platform).
AIVIS and AstraZeneca Korea signed an MoU to build an AI-driven HER2 diagnosis ecosystem, clinically implementing AIVIS’ Qanti IHC under the newer, more granular HER2 classification.
Regulatory Milestones:
Artera received FDA Breakthrough Device Designation (BDD) for ArteraAI Prostate, the first AI risk-stratification tool in prostate cancer predicting metastasis risk and disease-specific mortality from WSIs.
CDx Diagnostics also earned BDD for WATS3D, which uses AI on 3D digital pathology images obtained via a proprietary brush for Barrett’s esophagus, dysplasia, and esophageal cancer—run in CDx’s CLIA/CAP/NYS-licensed lab.
Other 2025 BDDs include Paige (PanCancer Detect), Roche (VENTANA TROP2 RxDx), and Modella AI (gen-AI co-pilot). Reminder: BDD is not clearance; historically only ~10% progress to full FDA clearance.
AI Developments:
Google Research/DeepMind expanded MedGemma with MedGemma-27B Multimodal (including EHR interpretation) and MedSigLIP (lightweight image–text encoder) spanning radiology, dermatology, digital pathology, ophthalmology; MedGemma integrates FHIR and medical text. A joint study showed illumiSonics’ MLI can generate virtual H&E-like images from unstained skin tissue that Modella AI’s PathChat DX (without prior virtual-histology training) could analyze with high concordance versus eight dermatopathologists reviewing virtual and matched chemical H&Es—signaling growing momentum for stain-free imaging.
Funding:
Imagene raised a $23M Series B led by Larry Ellison and Oracle.
Scopio Labs unveiled its Complete Blood Morphology analyzer to automate peripheral smear review and analyze ~10× more cells than current practice; Viola Growth added $10M to Scopio’s Series D. Earlier in July, Scopio gained FDA clearance for a Decision Support System on X100/X100HT and a Peripheral Blood Smear app with AI-driven RBC morphology grading.
Partnerships:
Owkin launched a 5-year partnership with Newcastle Upon Tyne Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust to apply agentic AI across drug discovery, development, and diagnostics. First up: an AI tool to screen for gBRCA mutations in breast cancer, with Newcastle running validation studies and contributing multimodal data via Owkin’s ATLANTIS network (20 institutions across 7 countries, 11 therapeutic areas.
Lunit teamed with Microsoft to broaden access to cancer-detection AI through Azure-based model fine-tuning and agentic workflow tools; this follows Lunit’s growing DP footprint (e.g., SCOPE PD-L1 TPS integrating with Roche’s platform).
AIVIS and AstraZeneca Korea signed an MoU to build an AI-driven HER2 diagnosis ecosystem, clinically implementing AIVIS’ Qanti IHC under the newer, more granular HER2 classification.
Regulatory Milestones:
Artera received FDA Breakthrough Device Designation (BDD) for ArteraAI Prostate, the first AI risk-stratification tool in prostate cancer predicting metastasis risk and disease-specific mortality from WSIs.
CDx Diagnostics also earned BDD for WATS3D, which uses AI on 3D digital pathology images obtained via a proprietary brush for Barrett’s esophagus, dysplasia, and esophageal cancer—run in CDx’s CLIA/CAP/NYS-licensed lab.
Other 2025 BDDs include Paige (PanCancer Detect), Roche (VENTANA TROP2 RxDx), and Modella AI (gen-AI co-pilot). Reminder: BDD is not clearance; historically only ~10% progress to full FDA clearance.
AI Developments:
Google Research/DeepMind expanded MedGemma with MedGemma-27B Multimodal (including EHR interpretation) and MedSigLIP (lightweight image–text encoder) spanning radiology, dermatology, digital pathology, ophthalmology; MedGemma integrates FHIR and medical text. A joint study showed illumiSonics’ MLI can generate virtual H&E-like images from unstained skin tissue that Modella AI’s PathChat DX (without prior virtual-histology training) could analyze with high concordance versus eight dermatopathologists reviewing virtual and matched chemical H&Es—signaling growing momentum for stain-free imaging.
Funding:
Imagene raised a $23M Series B led by Larry Ellison and Oracle.
Scopio Labs unveiled its Complete Blood Morphology analyzer to automate peripheral smear review and analyze ~10× more cells than current practice; Viola Growth added $10M to Scopio’s Series D. Earlier in July, Scopio gained FDA clearance for a Decision Support System on X100/X100HT and a Peripheral Blood Smear app with AI-driven RBC morphology grading.
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September 2025 Digital Pathology Roundup
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August 2025 Digital Pathology Roundup
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June 2025 Digital Pathology roundup
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May 2025 Digital Pathology Roundup
30/06/2025
April 2025 Digital Pathology Roundup
01/06/2025
March 2025 Digital Pathology Roundup
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February 2025 Digital Pathology Roundup
31/03/2025
January 2025 Digital Pathology Roundup
28/02/2025
2025 Digital Pathology Predictions
24/02/2025
November 2024 Digital Pathology Roundup
31/12/2024
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