Owkin Partners with Merck to Develop AI-Powered Digital Pathology Test for MSI-H Across Four Cancers

Source: 360Dx

On December 19, Owkin announced a collaboration with Merck & Co., Inc. to develop and commercialize microsatellite instability-high (MSI-H) diagnostic technologies for four types of cancer.

The financial details of the collaboration were not disclosed. The aim is to develop a pre-screening program using Paris-based Owkin’s AI-driven MSIntuit CRC assay to test the MSI-H rate in endometrial cancer, gastric cancer, small intestine cancer, and biliary tract cancer.

MSI represents a defect in the cell's ability to correct DNA replication errors, which is rare in these cancers, so screening is not a routine practice.

MSIntuit CRC has currently obtained CE certification for colorectal cancer, and Owkin plans to further develop the assay for four new cancer types using multimodal patient data from multiple academic centers and hospitals. The assay applies machine learning to digitized pathology slides.

The collaboration will initially focus on the European Union.

Some studies suggest that the MSI-H tumor phenotype may have significant implications for prognosis and treatment, especially with the increasing application of immune checkpoint inhibitor therapies.

Owkin has been pursuing other collaborations to apply spatial omics to cancer diagnosis and drug development. The company is the primary sponsor of the MOSAIC (Multi-Omic Spatial Atlas in Cancer) project launched in June, and recently reached an agreement to incorporate 10X Genomics’ spatial and single-cell technologies into the initiative.

"This strategic alliance with MSD focuses on improving the way patients are diagnosed and receive treatment, advancing our shared mission to support healthcare providers in adopting innovative digital diagnostic technologies," said Meriem Sefta, Chief Diagnostic Officer at Owkin, in a statement. "There is clearly a need for AI diagnostics that can both alleviate bottlenecks and resource pressures and increase the intensity of biomarker testing to match patients with the best treatment options."