Varian to invest in Oncora to develop radiation oncology tools

Varian will invest in privately held digital health company Oncora Medical to accelerate the development of precision medicine in radiation oncology.

The partnership will allow the parties to fast-track the advancement of software tools.

Varian oncology software solutions senior vice-president Corey Zankowski said: “We envision a world where all patients have access to the highest quality cancer care regardless of their location.

“Oncora Medical’s ability to aggregate vast amounts of patient data is designed to empower oncologists with a decision support tool to achieve the goal of elevating the standard of care across the country.”

The company’s Patient Care system stores the data of cancer patients, treatments and outcomes to help doctors improve patient care. Oncora partnered with MD Anderson Cancer Center oncologists to develop the platform.

The predictive modelling engine estimates the new patient’s treatment outcomes by encoding results from past trials.

The company’s research engine, Oncora Analytics, collects data from prior patient treatments. This data influences scientific and medical research. Currently, 13 cancer care sites are using this software in the US.

Oncora co-founder and CEO David Lindsay said: “Oncora’s mission is to improve outcomes for cancer patients by developing intuitive software tools to better collect and learn from real-world data.

“We look forward to partnering with Varian to develop and deploy innovative new tools in the fight against cancer.”

Varian purchased Cancer Treatment Services International (CTSI) for $283m in May.