Danaher Launches Beacon Research Collaboration with Stanford University Aiming to Build Next Generation of Smart Microscopes for Cancer Drug Screening
- Predictive tools will seek to reduce leading cause of failure rates in clinical trials of oncology drugs.
- Integrated AI and microscopy expected to lead to better understanding of tumor structures and treatment strategies.
- New technology will work to capture and analyze the highly heterogeneous tumor microenvironment.
WASHINGTON, July 11, 2024 /PRNewswire/ — Danaher Corporation (NYSE: DHR), a global science and technology innovator, today launched a research collaboration with Stanford University’s Department of Bioengineering intended to shape the future of cancer drug screening through “smart microscopy.” Combining spatial biology with artificial intelligence (AI), the research team at the Danaher Beacon for Spatialomics aims to help de-risk cancer drug development.
Tumors are highly variable, not just from tumor to tumor but within each tumor itself. This variation in the “microenvironment” leads to unpredictable clinical outcomes, including high failure rates during clinical trials. The collaboration aims to leverage the latest findings in spatial biology coupled with cutting-edge AI to make it possible to screen more complex cellular systems.
Chandra Ramanathan, VP and Head of External Innovation of Danaher’s DH Life Sciences LLC subsidiary, said: “Many oncology drug trials fail because we cannot yet capture and analyze the nuances of the tumor microenvironment and how key proteins spatially interact with each other. Addressing this challenge will require collecting data at scale and designing new ways to analyze it. We are delighted to commit Danaher’s expertise to seek to develop AI-driven phenotyping that could improve drug screening and bring more effective and safer drugs to cancer patients.”
Emma Lundberg, Ph.D., Associate Professor of Bioengineering and Pathology at Stanford University, said: “We’re at the brink of a new era when it comes to spatial biology and structural cell modeling. This research collaboration will seek to apply the latest microscopy and AI tools at the scale needed to understand treatment responses based on differences in protein expression that change across regions of the tumor.”
The collaboration is a partnership between Leica Microsystems, a Danaher subsidiary, and Lundberg, a researcher and leader in the field of spatial proteomics and cell biology known for her involvement in the Human Protein Atlas project. The outcome could be an analysis engine that can detect spatial, proteomic, and metabolic changes in the tumor microenvironment and more accurately predict how tumors will respond to potential therapies.
The collaboration is the latest addition to the Danaher Beacons program, which funds product-driven scientific research with globally recognized academic investigators.
ABOUT DANAHER
Danaher is a leading global life sciences and diagnostics innovator, committed to accelerating the power of science and technology to improve human health. Our businesses partner closely with customers to solve many of the most important health challenges impacting patients around the world. Danaher’s advanced science and technology – and proven ability to innovate – help enable faster, more accurate diagnoses and help reduce the time and cost needed to sustainably discover, develop and deliver life-changing therapies. Focused on scientific excellence, innovation and continuous improvement, our approximately 63,000 associates worldwide help ensure that Danaher is improving quality of life for billions of people today, while setting the foundation for a healthier, more sustainable tomorrow. Explore more at www.danaher.com.
FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS
Statements in this release that are not strictly historical, including any statements regarding events or developments that Danaher believes or anticipates will or may occur in the future are “forward-looking” statements within the meaning of the federal securities laws. These factors include, among other things: unanticipated, further declines in demand for our COVID-19 related products, the impact of global health crises, the impact of our debt obligations on our operations and liquidity, deterioration of or instability in the global economy, the markets we serve and the financial markets, uncertainties with respect to the development, deployment, and use of artificial intelligence in our business and products, uncertainties relating to national laws or policies, including laws or policies to protect or promote domestic interests and/or address foreign competition, contractions or growth rates and cyclicality of markets we serve, competition, our ability to develop and successfully market new products and technologies and expand into new markets, the potential for improper conduct by our employees, agents or business partners, our compliance with applicable laws and regulations (including rules relating to off-label marketing and other regulations relating to medical devices and the health care industry), the results of our clinical trials and perceptions thereof, our ability to effectively address cost reductions and other changes in the health care industry, our ability to successfully identify and consummate appropriate acquisitions and strategic investments, our ability to integrate the businesses we acquire and achieve the anticipated growth, synergies and other benefits of such acquisitions, contingent liabilities and other risks relating to acquisitions, investments, strategic relationships and divestitures (including tax-related and other contingent liabilities relating to past and future IPOs, split-offs or spin-offs), security breaches or other disruptions of our information technology systems or violations of data privacy laws, the impact of our restructuring activities on our ability to grow, risks relating to potential impairment of goodwill and other intangible assets, currency exchange rates, tax audits and changes in our tax rate and income tax liabilities, changes in tax laws applicable to multinational companies, litigation and other contingent liabilities including intellectual property and environmental, health and safety matters, the rights of the United States government with respect to our production capacity in times of national emergency or with respect to intellectual property/production capacity developed using government funding, risks relating to product, service or software defects, product liability and recalls, risks relating to our manufacturing operations and fluctuations in the cost and availability of the supplies we use (including commodities) and labor we need for our operations, our relationships with and the performance of our channel partners, uncertainties relating to collaboration arrangements with third-parties, the impact of deregulation on demand for our products and services, the impact of climate change, legal or regulatory measures to address climate change and our ability to address stakeholder expectations relating to climate change, labor matters and our ability to recruit, retain and motivate talented employees representing diverse backgrounds, experiences and skill sets, non-U.S. economic, political, legal, compliance, social and business factors (including the impact of military conflicts), disruptions relating to man-made and natural disasters, inflation and the impact of our By-law exclusive forum provisions. Additional information regarding the factors that may cause actual results to differ materially from these forward-looking statements is available in our SEC filings, including our 2023 Annual Report on Form 10-K and Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for the first quarter of 2024. These forward-looking statements speak only as of the date of this release and except to the extent required by applicable law, the Company does not assume any obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statement, whether as a result of new information, future events and developments or otherwise.
View original content:SOURCE Danaher Corporation
