The business model of Inspirata is relatively unique compared to other companies connected to digital pathology. The company seeks to enhance the digital pathology workflow of its clients presumably pathology departments and consulting firms. Here is a summary of the company goals copied from the company web page (WELCOME TO INSPIRATA):
We...help cancer institutions overcome the financial barriers to adoption using our unique business and delivery model where we make the upfront capital investment in the hardware, software and storage needed to enable a cancer institution to move to a fully automated digital pathology workflow inclusive of the on premise resources needed to operate the scanning lab to convert glass slides to digital images. At the end of the engagement, the institution owns the technology assets and can hire the personnel or renew Inspirata’s contract to continue the managed services model.
Inspirata recently acquired GE Healthcare's Omnyx (see: Inspirata Acquires Digital Pathology Company Omnyx, Enabling Delivery of an IVD Device for Primary Diagnosis in Europe and Canada). Below is an excerpt from the article announcing the purchase:
Cancer informatics and digital pathology workflow solution provider Inspirata...has acquired Pittsburgh, PA-based Omnyx from GE Healthcare. Omnyx was an early innovator in bringing brilliant software to pathology departments around the world....[According to] Inspirata CEO Satish Sanan, “It brings us the last mile to reach our goal of having an end-to-end integrated pathology solution with a scanner-agnostic whole slide image viewer and image management system. It also gives us a fully supported IVD device cleared for primary digital diagnosis in Europe and Canada, and it expands our customer base and geographic footprint across those countries.”....“Our short-term plan is to rapidly combine the advantages of our digital pathology software platform and the Dynamyx platform by converging them onto a shared, state-of-the-art technology stack,” continues Sanan.
The history of Omnyx, launched originally as a partnership with UPMC, is complicated. Here are a few of the details from an article on the topic from December, 2016 (see: Omnyx ends UPMC affiliation):
Digital pathology company Omnyx LLC will be folded into GE Healthcare at the end of the month, ending an eight-year partnership with Pittsburgh hospital system giant UPMC to commercialize a nascent technology....UPMC and GE Healthcare formed Omnyx in 2008 as 50-50 owners with the promise of contributing a combined $40 million to the venture. UPMC and GE Healthcare predicted that Omnyx would capture 25 percent or $500 million of an eventual $2 billion market.
The acquisition of the Omnyx software by Inspirata makes good sense. Note in the second excerpt above that CEO Satish Sanan emphasizes the goal for his company of developing an "integrated pathology solution with a scanner-agnostic whole slide image viewer and image management system." Inspirata will continue to work primarily in the digital pathology software space, enabling the customer to purchase scanners form other companies. Also note the reference to the acquisitor of a "a fully supported IVD device cleared for primary digital diagnosis in Europe and Canada." The recent FDA digital pathology approval for Philips was restricted to that system for primary diagnosis (see: FDA Approves the Philips Digital Pathology WSI Solution for Primary Diagnosis). However, it is likely that approval of digital pathology systems for primary diagnosis from other vendors will follow in rapid succession.
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