Dx Deals Roundup: Pact Aims to Improve Prostate Cancer Detection Among Hispanic Males

The December-January period tends to be slow in terms of dealmaking, although one pact could wind up putting laboratory testing for prostate cancer on a whole new path.

That appears to be the intent of ArteraAI, the San Francisco-based creator of numerous AI-focused predictive and prognostic cancer tests. It recently announced a research deal with Puerto Rican laboratory CorePlus that is intended to tweak ArteraAI’s prostate cancer test to work more effectively among Hispanics (Latinos/Latinx) in the United States.¹

“Working with CorePlus allows us to enhance our diversity efforts, providing a unique opportunity to conduct comprehensive analytical validation of our models across diverse ethnic groups,” said ArteraAI chief executive officer Andre Esteva, in a press release.¹

Although it develops fairly slowly and can be addressed with surgery and other treatments, prostate cancer kills roughly 35,000 Americans each year.² Of particular risk are Hispanics. Prostate cancer is the most commonly diagnosed cancer among this group other than skin cancer. And while the incidence of prostate cancer among Hispanics is about 9 percent lower than White men, they are significantly less likely to undergo regular screening compared to other ethnic groups. They are also more likely to undergo a radical prostatectomy than undergo radiation treatment. Mortality rates among Puerto Rican men are higher than those of Black men, who have the highest overall death rate.³

CorePlus said it has utilized an AI algorithm on approximately 10,000 Hispanic men. That data will be used to help further train its AI models and be incorporated into ArteraAI’s prostate cancer test.

“This research agreement provides a strong step forward in increasing understanding of differences and reducing disparities in access to precision diagnostics, creating more equitable and personalized care for prostate cancer patients,” said CorePlus CEO Mariano de Socarraz in the press release announcing the deal.¹

Terms of the agreement were not disclosed. ArteraAI declined to respond to questions regarding the pact.

Randy Vince, MD, a urologist and director of minority men’s health at University Hospitals in Cleveland, OH, said the collaboration is a step in the right direction.

“Overall, precision medicine has left specific communities in the dark, meaning that only a select group of patients benefited from precision medicine testing,” he said in an email. “Additionally, when developing precision medicine testing platforms, certain populations of men like Black, Indigenous, and specific populations of Latinx men have not been included in the validation trials. So, this agreement will ensure that Latinx men are included in the data collection process and have access to testing.” 

Diana Londoño, MD, a urologic surgeon affiliated with the City of Hope Comprehensive Cancer Center in Duarte, CA, noted that many other barriers to testing still need to be addressed, such as discomfort with rectal exams and misinformation about whether a prostate biopsy can cause cancer to spread.

“If AI makes more men aware or willing to seek screening or treatment, then that is a great use of the technology,” she said.

Takeaway

Artificial intelligence’s ability to analyze data may provide the opportunity to address current gaps in precision medicine testing for minority groups who may be particularly vulnerable to a specific type of disease. The ArteraAI-CorePlus research agreement may be an indicator of similar deals to come.

References:

1. 1. https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20231214889110/en/ArteraAI-Announces-Research-Agreement-with-CorePlus

1. 1. https://www.cancer.org/cancer/types/prostate-cancer/about/key-statistics.html

1. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK573249/#:~:text=After%20skin%20cancer%2C%20prostate%20cancer,death%20among%20Latinos%20%5B1%5D.

Here’s a summary of key strategic diagnostic deals announced in the period from December 2023 through mid-January 2024:

Mergers, Acquisitions, and Asset Sales

Strategic Alliances, Partnerships, and Collaborations

Licenses

No significant licensing deals were made during the period.

Government Contracts