Proscia Nabs $37 Million in Series C Funding to Advance Digital Pathology Capabilities
With $37 million in new funding, Philadelphia-based Proscia is using computational pathology to advance the ways in which cancer is understood and treated.
Using its powerful artificial intelligence-driven Concentriq digital pathology platform, Proscia is accelerating breakthroughs in precision medicine. David West, Co-Founder and Chief Executive Officer of Proscia, explained that pathology has been a core component of research and diagnosis for more than 150 years. But, with advances in technology and machine learning capabilities, the field is shifting away from microscopes and glass slides and becoming a data-driven discipline that is more reliant on the use of high-resolution digital imagery.
“In doing so, it is opening up powerful new opportunities for advancing the way we understand and treat diseases like cancer,” West told BioBuzz.
Concentriq is the company’s digital pathology platform. It combines enterprise scalability with powerful computational applications to help accelerate breakthroughs and unlock new insights that advance precision medicine, West said. The platform provides researchers with solutions to carry out routine pathology operations at scale. Additionally, Concentriq enables the scientists and pathologists to “seamlessly deploy computational applications into their workflows so that they can realize the value of AI in their work,” he added.
Proscia’s technology has become a central tool for many of the largest pharmaceutical companies across the globe. West said that 10 of the top 20 pharmaceutical companies use Concentriq, as does the Joint Pathology Center and LabPON, the first laboratory to go fully digital.
“At Proscia, we are driven to help life sciences organizations and diagnostic laboratories realize these opportunities, in no small part because of their impact on the patient. Concentriq is what is enabling our customers to do so,” West said.
RELATED: Digital Transformation in the Life Sciences Accelerates, Set to Reshape Industry Across Next Decade
The company recently introduced an Automated Quality Control application that uses artificial intelligence to identify commonly-occurring quality issues in pathology images. By reducing the need to manually review these images, it drives significant productivity and efficiency gains that may enable research teams to start studies faster and accelerate drug development, once again helping to bring new therapies to market faster, West said.
The $37 million in financing will enable Proscia to advance its computational pathology capabilities. Currently, in the field of digital pathology, Proscia stands as the premier company driving this approach. And that’s not by accident. West said the company will continue to offer the broadest variety of AI applications on the Concentriq platform.
“When you consider that pathology sits at the center of life sciences research and disease diagnosis, it becomes especially clear that we must help to advance both research and diagnostic pathology in order to truly capitalize on the promise of the digital transformation. This is what we set out to achieve with Concentriq, and it will always continue to guide our journey,” West said.
The Series C financing round was supported by Highline Capital Management, Triangle Peak Partners, and Alpha Intelligence Capital. Other investors include Scale Venture Partners, Hitachi Ventures, ROBO Global, Emerald Development Managers, and Razor’s Edge Ventures. Combined with previous financial raises, the Series C brings Proscia’s total funding to $72 million.
Jacob Doft, the CEO of Highline Capital Management, touted Proscia’s capabilities and said the company is “uniquely positioned to enable a new frontier of patient care.” Digital pathology is a critical catalyst that is accelerating precision medicine, he said.
The funds will enable the company to continue to expand Concentriq, as well as its DermAI platform and melanoma detection technology. Additionally, West said the company will introduce third-party applications.
“Proscia is working to advance the way we understand and treat diseases like cancer. To get there, we must take the next steps in our journey, which include investing in product development, accelerating computational pathology adoption, further scaling our commercial operations, and growing our team so that we can increasingly get innovative technology in the hands of scientists and pathologists,” he said.
The financing will also enable the company to expand its headcount. Proscia currently has approximately 100 employees but intends to increase the headcount by 40 over the next six months. Proscia intends to scale its commercial operations and expand its sales, marketing, and customer support teams. This plan will support the company’s expansion of its distribution partnerships following an original equipment manufacturing agreement struck with Siemens Healthineers.
- About the Author
- Latest Posts
Alex Keown is a freelance journalist who writes about a variety of subjects including the pharma, biotech, and life science industries. Prior to freelancing, Alex has served as a staff writer and editor for several publications.
