A revolutionary breast cancer diagnostic technology has been adopted by international healthcare giant Bupa as part of a huge global expansion.
Bupa swooped on UK tech start-up Digistain’s AI-powered tool as it presents significant savings in healthcare with much lower acquisition costs, transportation fees and a reduced prescription of chemotherapy, by as much as 30%. UK-based healthcare insurer Bupa has operations in 190 countries and boasts 43 million customers worldwide.
Bupa’s adoption comes as Digistain announces that fellow UK health insurer WPA and global healthcare giant Healix have committed to offer Digistain to their customers.
A recent independent health economic study, carried out by Health Tech Connect and commissioned and funded by the UK government, concluded that Digistain would offer massive cost reductions to organisations and could save the NHS £287m if widely adopted.
Tim Woodman, Medical Director at Bupa’s Policy and Cancer Services, said: “I’m really excited to be working with Digistain. The agreement gives Bupa’s breast cancer customers access to a cutting-edge, effective and sustainable diagnostic technology that will have a real impact on providing the most effective care. It’s a good example of Bupa’s continuing commitment to be innovators in cancer care.”
And Dr Hemmel Amrania, Founder and CEO of Digistain, added: “This agreement is a milestone for progressing breast cancer care and, given Bupa is the UK’s largest private healthcare provider, a significant validation for the company. I’m looking forward to our partnership and have been impressed by Bupa’s approach to innovation and desire to be at the forefront of cancer treatment decision-making. Using Digistain speeds up a traditional worldwide cancer diagnostics approach that is currently too slow and where time and swift action are precious potentially life-saving commodities.”
Dr Hemmel Amrania is pictured above with breast cancer survivor and actress Samantha Womack, at Imperial College where the technology was created.
Leading oncologist Charles Coombes, Professor of Medical Oncology at Imperial College, has also endorsed Digistain and said he is confident in its potential to transform cancer diagnostics following the release of a defining study in renowned publication Breast Cancer Research and Treatment.
Professor Coombes said: “There are several limitations in gene expression profiling tests. The main problem for me as an oncologist is the turnaround time - patients are very anxious in this two-to-three week period it takes to get results back. I think there is room for a better, more rapid risk stratification method to enhance patient care. Digistain delivers a result in 15 minutes which I think is quite outstanding and, in terms of diagnostic performance, Digistain is equivalent to market-leading tumour risk profiling tests.”
Most breast cancer biopsy results are currently air-freighted to the US for analysis at huge cost to organisations like the NHS - and the environment. The Health Tech Connect study found that Digistain’s technology eliminates this need, therefore reducing the NHS carbon footprint by 460 tonnes.
Recognising this, one of the world’s most prestigious scientific journals, Nature, recently selected Digistain as one of four finalists for its coveted Spin Off Innovation prize. The competition attracts thousands of entries around the world and honours scientists who have successfully transformed innovative discoveries into start-up companies or that address critical global challenges in areas like healthcare, sustainability, and technology.
Digistain is currently being adopted around the world by hospitals in the Far East, South America, Africa, India, Pakistan, with deals in the US imminent. It is being trialled by a number of UK NHS Trusts too.