Digital & Computational Pathology - Executive Director of Translational Medicine, Top 20 Pharma

An executive director of translational medicine at a top 20 pharma discusses their utilization and implementation of digital pathology. This stakeholder is currently using
digital pathology in their clinical development programs to better understand how their drugs work and the mechanism of action, noting that digital pathology is far away from being predictive or ready for a diagnostic tool. This stakeholder has slide scanners in-house and also outsources this task to CROs for high-throughput work. They partner frequently with Cellcarta and other specialized companies like Akoya and Ultivue for more sophisticated multiplex immunofluorescent and spatial imaging work, depending on the program. This stakeholder is familiar with a number of digital pathology vendors, including Roche, Leica, Zeiss, PathAI, Paige.AI and Visiopharm. They believe the value of digital pathology will come over time, and the goal is to link a simple image to an endpoint or a feature that helps the field enable faster decision-making based on a simple technology. Pain points include defining the appropriate scanner and data analysis infrastructure, as well as finding reliable external partners for assay development. Key market trends discussed include the use of digital pathology to better understand drug mechanisms, the need for high-throughput work, and the emergence of new vendors in this space.

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