Albuquerque biotechnology firm Indica Labs is pairing its technology with a platform offered by an artificial intelligence-driven cancer diagnostic company.
As part of the agreement, announced May 20, Indica and Ibex Medical Analytics of Tel Aviv, Israel, will integrate their two technologies. One of the platforms, called the HALO AP, was developed by Indica Labs and can be used as a case and image management solution for pathology.
Ibex's Galen platform, on the other hand, uses artificial intelligence algorithms to help pathologists improve the quality of cancer diagnosis, as well as reduce turnaround times. The platform "routinely detects misdiagnosed and mis-graded cancers in digitized slides, guiding pathologists to areas of cancer," according to a release from the two firms.
The integration of the technologies will allow for a more seamless user experience, according to the companies, as Ibex's cancer detection, case prioritization and other insights are embedded into Indica's pathology platform, "so there is no need to use a separate viewer."
“Integrated digital pathology and AI workflows are a major driver in supporting pathologists, as they are challenged by ever-increasing workloads and complexity of cancer diagnosis,” Joseph Mossel, CEO and cofounder of Ibex Medical Analytics, said in a statement. "By joining forces with Indica Labs, we can jointly offer end-to-end solutions enabling pathologists to accelerate adoption of new technologies, strengthen the business case for digitization and improve the quality of cancer care."
Steven Hashagen, CEO of Indica Labs, was unable to be reached for comment. The company, headquartered in Albuquerque, was founded in 2011. It has hundreds of customers and saw year-over-year growth of 63 percent between 2017 and 2018, Business First reported.
In 2019, the company unveiled its new laboratory space. Prior to the unveiling, business operations manager Julianna Lopez said the company would create up to 58 new jobs through five years. The state was expected to contribute up to $600,000 in Local Economic Development Act (LEDA) funding to support the expansion. LEDA money is granted to local governments to aid expanding or relocating businesses.
Over the past couple years, the company has also received multiple Job Training Incentive Program awards, used to fund training for newly-created jobs in expanding or relocating businesses.
