NEW YORK – Quest Diagnostics said Wednesday that it is entering a series of agreements with PathAI to speed up adoption of digital and AI pathology technology.
Under the terms of the agreements, Quest will acquire select assets of PathAI's anatomic and digital pathology lab services business PathAI Diagnostics. It will also license PathAI's AISight digital pathology management system to support pathology labs and customer sites in the US and will become a preferred provider for PathAI's biopharmaceutical clinical laboratory services.
PathAI Diagnostics' Memphis, Tennessee, laboratory will become Quest's AI and digital R&D and solutions center, supporting Quest's specialty pathology businesses, AmeriPath and Dermpath Diagnostics.
The transaction is expected to close in the second quarter of 2024. Financial and other terms of the deal were not provided.
"This transaction will enable Quest to dramatically ramp our capabilities in AI and digital pathology, building on our leadership in oncology and subspecialized pathology services," Kristie Dolan, Quest's senior VP for oncology, said in a statement. "AI and digital technologies have tremendous potential to improve cancer care, and Quest has the know-how to scale and deliver innovations that are high quality, efficient, and broadly accessible. PathAI has industry-leading expertise in AI pathology innovation, and their state-of-the-art digitized laboratory in Memphis provides a platform for future growth."
"This strategic relationship represents a significant milestone for the anatomic pathology industry and marks a major turning point for digital pathology adoption in the US," PathAI Cofounder and CEO Andy Beck said in a statement. "The adoption of these technologies by an organization with the scale and breadth of capabilities of Quest is a clear demonstration of how PathAI's cutting-edge solutions can help address the market's need for more efficient and high-quality pathology operations."