Jan 20 (Reuters) – Bristol-Myers Squibb said on Tuesday it has signed a deal with Microsoft to use the technology company’s artificial intelligence radiology platform to help speed up early detection of lung cancer.
The companies said the partnership will deploy U.S. Food and Drug Administration-approved radiology artificial intelligence algorithms through Microsoft’s Precision Imaging Network, which analyzes X-ray and CT images to help identify lung disease and is used by hospitals in the United States.
Bristol-Myers Squibb said the tools could help clinicians find hard-to-detect lung nodules and identify some patients in the early stages of the disease.
The drugmaker said a key goal of the partnership is to expand access to early detection in medically underserved communities, including rural hospitals and community clinics across the United States.
“By combining Microsoft’s highly scalable radiology solutions with Bristol’s deep expertise in oncology and drug delivery, we envision a unique AI workflow that helps clinicians quickly and accurately identify patients with non-small cell lung cancer and guide them toward the best care pathways and precision treatments,” said Alexandra Goncalves, vice president and head of digital health at Bristol-Myers Squibb.
Pharmaceutical companies are increasingly turning to artificial intelligence to speed up research and development, betting that new modeling tools and automated labs can make the entire pipeline more efficient.
Last week, AstraZeneca said it agreed to acquire Boston-based Modella AI to accelerate oncology drug research.
(Reporting by Sneha SK in Bengaluru; Editing by Tasim Zahid)
