Visiopharm®, the Denmark-based leader in artificial intelligence-driven image analysis, tissue mining, and precision pathology has announced the formation of its scientific advisory board (SAB), comprised of industry experts in digital pathology, quality assessment, oncology, and immunology.

AI-driven Digital Precision Pathology is still a relatively new discipline. Compared to many other battle-tested modalities for diagnostics and research, there has been far less time and influx of resources for research and validation. It will take time, resources, and the sharpest scientific minds to unfold the true potential of this new technology, which has a great promise to fill an unmet need for precision medicine in cancer diagnostics.

“Collaborations within the framework of Scientific Advisory Boards is just one of many ways academia and industry can begin to work constructively together to explore, develop and document this new technology and its potential applications in the development of new drugs and companion diagnostic biomarkers. We are excited to be working with the scientific leaders in our field, under the leadership of Dr. Ralf Huss. And we look forward to contributing to the further advancement of AI-driven precision pathology within this forum”, stated Michael Grunkin, CEO of Visiopharm.

Chaired by Ralf Huss M.D., Ph.D., certified Pathologist, Professor of Pathology, and Managing Deputy Director of Pathology and Molecular Diagnostics at the University Hospital in Augsburg, Germany, the SAB is composed of ten additional luminaries that have extensive industry experience and bring world-class international expertise.

Ralf Huss, states: “The creation of a Scientific Advisory Board is great next step to leverage Visiopharm’s capabilities on how we practice pathology now and in the future on the highest level of clinical and scientific excellence with consistent and reliable quality. The SAB will steer Visiopharm’s solutions to improve cancer diagnostics, and given the complexity of tissue, find novel insights that are assisted by digital and AI-supported solutions.” 

The members of Visiopharm’s SAB are as follows:

Marylin Bui M.D. Ph.D., Senior Member in the Department of Pathology and Scientific Director of Analytic Microscopy Core of Moffitt Cancer Center.  Professor and Director of the Cytopathology Fellowship at the University of South Florida, Tampa, Florida, USA.

Andrew Dodson, Director UK NEQAS Immunocytochemistry and In Situ Hybridisation (ICC & ISH), London/UK.

James L. Gulley, M.D., Ph.D., F.A.C.P., Chief Genitourinary Malignancies Branch, Head Immunotherapy Group, GMB, Director Medical Oncology Service, Center for Cancer Research, NCI, NIH, Bethesda/Maryland, USA.

David Harrison Ph.D., Professor of Pathology at the University of St. Andrews, UK, Director of iCAIRD.

Anne-Vibeke Lænkholm M.D., Clinical Associate Research Professor and Senior Pathologist at the Department of Surgical Pathology, Zealand University Hospital, Roskilde, Denmark.

Prof. Dr. med. Holger Moch, Director Department of Pathology and Molecular Pathology, University Hospital Zurich, Switzerland.

Prof. Dr. rer. nat. Elfriede Nößner, Head of Immunoanalytics, Helmholtz Zentrum München, German Research Center for Environmental Health, Munich, Germany.

Anil Parwani M.D. Ph.D., Professor of Pathology, Vice Chair and Director of Anatomical Pathology, Director of the Digital Pathology, OSU, Columbus/Ohio, USA.

Bert Van der Vegt M.D. Ph.D., Histopathologist, University of Groningen, University Medical Center Groningen, The Netherlands.

Mogens Vyberg M.D., Professor of clinical pathology at the University of Aalborg, Copenhagen, Denmark.

The SAB will work with Visiopharm´s leadership team to provide scientific review and high-level advice to the R&D pipeline. The SAB will be involved in strategic discussions for research and pre-clinical solutions as well as the upcoming next-generation Precision Pathology tools for cancer diagnostics. With plans to accelerate diagnostic product development and establish global regulatory programs, the board will also guide these key initiatives.

Adrian Arechiga, Chief Marketing Officer at Visiopharm, commented, “The newly established SAB is an important step for the exciting future development of our research and diagnostic programs. The board members are pioneers in pathology, cancer research, and immunology, bringing unprecedented expertise, skills, and leading scientific perspectives that will guide Visiopharm´s ambitious growth strategy”.

Visiopharm is very pleased to announce that Esther Abels, M.Sc., has joined the company as Chief Clinical and Regulatory Officer.

Visiopharm is on a journey to deliver next-generation AI-driven Precision Pathology tools for cancer diagnostics on a global scale. Esther brings extensive experience in Digital Pathology, Regulatory and Clinical Affairs, as well as Pharma Services for the development of new Companion Diagnostics. With upcoming novel diagnostic and quality platforms and services, Esther is the ideal candidate to contribute to Visiopharm´s transformative journey of precision pathology in diagnostics.

Dirk Vossen, Chief Diagnostic Officer at Visiopharm, states: “We have an ambitious roadmap for standardized AI-driven precision pathology and an equally ambitious regulatory roadmap with a strong focus on the United States. I have had the privilege of working with Esther for several years at Philips, where we had to trailblaze an entirely new regulatory path for digital and computational pathology in close collaboration with the FDA. I am excited to be working with Esther again, now that the next generation of AI-driven tools for Precision Pathology requires a similar type of effort.”

“From where I stand, Visiopharm is unique in two important ways: First, the company has grown organically for almost 20 years, and demonstrated a working deployment model in a market with a very complex pathway from biopsy to quantitative insights. Very few others have done that, and neither the efforts nor the risks should be underestimated.

Esther Abels

“From where I stand, Visiopharm is unique in two important ways: First, the company has grown organically for almost 20 years, and demonstrated a working deployment model in a market with a very complex pathway from biopsy to quantitative insights. Very few others have done that, and neither the efforts nor the risks should be underestimated. Second, Visiopharm has demonstrated both the commitment but also disruptive technological innovation, enabling a paradigm for standardization, including the mitigation of upstream error sources, for example, stain quality issues, calibration, and downstream in conjunction with the interpretation of tissue diagnostic assays. This addresses the clinical utility while enabling interoperability and is critical to pursue the ambition of Pathology becoming part of Precision Medicine. I am excited about contributing to this journey in this role,” stated Esther Abels.

“Esther is indeed one of the most respected people in our industry. In collaboration with the FDA, she has contributed to establishing a regulatory pathway for digital pathology. This is a challenging field from a standardization, harmonization, and regulatory perspective, that must be addressed in a strong interdisciplinary forum. Esther is also among the co-founders of The Alliance, which is an initiative that brings together industry and regulators in a forum for constructive dialog. And she is serving on the board of the Digital Pathology Association. That makes Esther an ideal candidate for taking Visiopharm through an important strategic transition, but also one of the people with the potential to transform the entire field”, stated Michael Grunkin, CEO of Visiopharm.