Discussion with CEOs from Inspirata and Omnyx
In the wake of the news of Inspirata acquiring Omnyx recently I had an opportunity to speak with the CEOs of each company and get their thoughts. The big question in my mind and those of many readers was “Why Omnyx? Why now?” How did this happen? Below is a summary of our discussion. Perhaps the point I find most interesting that I overlooked in my original thoughts on the news is the further enhancement of software, workflow, algorithms, etc…that remains scanner agnostic in this new relationship.
Software will continue to drive the needs of hardware and this combines two recognized platforms for improved laboratory workflows. It also provides Inspirata with a non-US install base and agreements with additional scanner companies that have large US and non-US footprints.
Given UPMC’s long recognized history and expertise in imaging and digital pathology and their past shared business relationship with Omnyx, I did inquire about UPMC’s potential role with Inspirata in the future. At the time of this discussion that was left to be determined.
My personal thanks to the CEOs and marketing staff for arranging for a discussion and sharing their thoughts.
Mr. Sanan Response:
GE/Omnyx® invested more than $400 million in its products, and its Dynamyx® software is still considered one of the best digital pathology platforms available. We started talking to them in January 2017 in Chicago. We discussed the synergies between our two platforms—the platform architecture and technology stack is identical, and the product functionality is synergetic. We also discussed the fact that both companies have been striving toward the same goal. At the time of our first meeting, GE was already speaking to other larger companies that had a broader geographic footprint than ours. Discussions suddenly reopened in August and by November we had signed an LOI to purchase Omnyx.
Prior to the closing of the deal, I visited or spoke to the largest Omnyx customers throughout Europe and Canada in December and early January to better understand their needs and assure them that Inspirata is going to focus on providing Dynamyx software upgrades through our expanded distributed development capabilities in Pittsburgh, Tampa and India. The consistent feedback from Omnyx’ customers was that they love the software and they’re happy to learn that it will continue to be supported and enhanced by Inspirata.
We also wasted no time putting together Business Requirements Documents (BRDs) for Omnyx’ customers in Europe and in Canada, mapping their use cases to determine the best-of-breed scanners to address those needs. It is our intent to sunset the VL120 scanners over the next 12-18 months, providing a technology refresh with comparably approved high-throughput devices in both Canada and Europe.
I’ve met with each of the scanner vendors to develop the necessary agreements to ensure we can offer best-of-breed solutions for the customers’ various use cases. This includes meeting with 3DHISTECH in Budapest to add to our current options from Philips and Leica.
This acquisition positions Inspirata as a catalyst for growth with our novel solution-as-a-service approach and the most dynamic, functionally rich digital pathology software and device-agnostic end-to-end workflow solution anywhere. I believe this news will energize the digital pathology market worldwide.
Mr. Chomos Response:
This is a celebratory moment. Our review of the market was thorough and this deal made the most sense to us. It is a great match from a technology stack and from the perspective of having a shared passion to improve the diagnostics workflow and cancer care.
