Telix Pharmaceuticals Limited (ASX:TLX, Telix, the Company) today announces expanding its artificial intelligence (AI) capabilities by signing an agreement to acquire Vienna-based Dedicaid GmbH (Dedicaid), a spin-off of Medical University, known Vienna.
At the heart of Dedicaid is a Clinical Decision Support Software (CDSS) AI platform capable of rapidly generating, from available datasets, indication-specific CDSS applications for use with Positron Emission Tomography (PET) and other imaging modalities. Each CDSS application is trained to predict outcomes such as disease severity, patient risk, and/or inform treatment decisions.
The AI platform also differs positively from commercially available AI solutions currently used in PSMA PET imaging, which are limited to assisting clinicians in interpreting and evaluating images – without predictive capability. This differentiation is driven by the Dedicaid-developed AutoML (Automated Machine Learning) engine behind the AI platform, effectively meaning it is a “zero-code” solution. This significantly reduces the time, cost, and expertise required to build, test, and validate new CDSS applications, facilitating a streamlined development and approval path for each new application.
The technology was developed by Dedicaid in collaboration with the Medical University of Vienna, with the proof of concept of the machine learning methods and applications developed for prostate, breast and lung cancer being published in leading peer-reviewed journals.
The acquisition accelerates the development of Telix’s AI platform – dubbed Telix AI™ – by adding predictive capabilities alongside the image analysis module being developed in partnership with Invicro LLC, which automates lesion classification for greater efficiency and Standardization to support the imaging workflow.
This acquisition will enable Telix to rapidly generate CDSS applications that are highly complementary to the company’s radiopharmaceutical pipeline. Upon closing of the transaction, Telix intends to complete validation activities and regulatory filings (United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA) 510(k) and CE Mark (Europe)) for the AI platform as “Software as a Medical Device” by 2023.
dr Michael Wheatcroft, Chief Scientist at Telix, said: “AI adds a new dimension of support to clinicians and patients by leveraging data generated by medical imaging to facilitate timely and effective clinical decision-making. This acquisition provides Telix with a powerful AI development platform and greatly improves our ability to rapidly generate new applications from clinical imaging data. These applications have the potential to help clinicians predict disease progression and treatment response, adding value and differentiation to Telix’s AI offering. It is also intrinsically aligned with the philosophy behind theranostics – which is to use the insights gained from medical imaging to provide information and determine an optimal treatment pathway.”
Thomas Beyer, co-founder and CEO of Dedicaid and head of the research area ‘Quantitative Imaging and Medical Physics (QIMP)’ at the Medical University of Vienna, said: “We built the Dedicaid platform with the mission to enrich medical imaging with artificial intelligence to To help physicians tackle the complex task of diagnosing and treating cancer and providing state-of-the-art patient care. Following extensive research and validation, we are pleased that Dedicaid is now joining Telix to complete the transition from technology to commercial phase.”
