NEW YORK – South Korean artificial intelligence firm Lunit and Guardant Health said Tuesday that Guardant is integrating Lunit's AI-based PD-L1 scoring algorithm into its tissue testing offering, dubbing the solution Guardant360 TissueNext PD-L1.
The move augments Guardant's existing biomarker assessment for non-small cell lung cancer patients with improved detection of PD-L1 positive tumors.
According to Lunit, its CE-marked assay, Lunit SCOPE PD-L1, has shown a more than 20 percent improvement in detection of PD-L1 positive samples compared to manual pathologist interpretation in the most challenging cases.
The two companies have had a partnership since 2021 following a strategic investment in Lunit by Guardant. The firms described the integration as the first example of what Guardant has dubbed Guardant Galaxy, a suite of technology applications developed internally and through outside partnerships to enhance the performance and utility of its portfolio of cancer tests.
Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed.
"With Guardant Galaxy, we are now accessing the most advanced AI techniques and the latest complementary technologies from leading companies in cancer diagnostics to enhance the capabilities of our tests and provide oncologists and researchers with precise and actionable information," Guardant co-CEO Helmy Eltoukhy said in a statement. "The digital pathology solution from Lunit has already demonstrated the power of AI to help improve detection of PD-L1 in certain cases of non-small cell lung cancer. We believe it has the potential to contribute much more broadly to advances in identifying cancer biomarkers and informing treatment decisions," he added.