September 09, 2009

Aperio Partners With HistoRx to Provide Integrated Fluorescence Whole Slide Imaging System

BY Dr. Keith J. Kaplan

One of the last "obstacles" or applications to be crossed by digital pathology is flourescent imaging with image analysis.  A new partnership between Aperio, a company providing a digital pathology platform, with HistoRx’s AQUA provides that functionality.  Aperio will be a value-added reseller of HistoRx’ AQUA® (Automated Quantitative Analysis) software.

HistoRx is developing unique theranostic solutions to unlock new approaches to individualized patient care. HistoRx’s proprietary technology delivers objective and reproducible multiparametric analysis of proteins in tissue, providing new insights into cancer treatment. The Company is applying this expertise to build a proprietary pipeline of diagnostic candidates and to help biopharmaceutical customers advance their drug development program.

Fluorescence Scanner and Image Analysis Software Offer Complete Solution for Biomarker Discovery

VISTA, Calif. & NEW HAVEN, Conn.–(BUSINESS WIRE)–Aperio Technologies, Inc., (Aperio), a global leader in digital pathology for the healthcare and life sciences industry, and HistoRx, Inc., (HistoRx), a leader in the emerging field of tissue-based assays for targeted patient treatment, have entered into a partnership to provide an integrated solution for whole-slide imaging with fluorescence.

The partnership integrates Aperio’s new ScanScope® FL, a multi-slide fluorescence scanning system designed to meet the growing demand for multiplexing with fluorescent biomarkers and quantitative analysis, with HistoRx’ AQUA® (Automated Quantitative Analysis) software for fluorescent image analysis that provides in-depth scientific insights from biomarker measurements. Aperio will be a value-added reseller of the AQUA software.

Aperio CEO Dirk G. Soenksen said, “With HistoRx, we see an opportunity to meet the growing trend in scientific research and drug discovery toward the use of fluorochrome-labeled tissue markers for diagnosis, treatment selection and monitoring in cancer.”

HistoRx’ AQUA image analysis technology can be used for quantitative assessment of protein expression in fixed tissue by measuring the intensity of expression in a particular cellular compartment, such as the cytoplasmic or nuclear compartment. The output of the analysis, called the AQUA score, can be correlated with other parameters such as disease detection, progression, response to therapy, or expression of proteins in alternate pathways. This technology will help to advance personalized medicine by identifying and validating new drug targets.

The AQUA analysis application will interface with Aperio’s Spectrum Plus™ image and data management platform, giving customers a seamless experience digitizing, viewing and analyzing fluorescence slides.

“Partnering with the global leader in digital pathology is a significant expansion of the availability of HistoRx AQUA technology,” said Rana K. Gupta, CEO of HistoRx. “We are pleased to collaborate with Aperio in helping pathologists worldwide improve their ability to identify correlations between biomarker expression and patient response to therapy.”

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