Oncora Medical

Published by Daniel at August 1, 2022

Oncora Medical, Inc. provides software, data analytics, and machine learning tools to enhance patient care in the oncology field. Christopher Berlind and David Lindsay, Founded the company in Philadelphia in 2014 and have since developed tools to assist in oncology consultation. This software features range from administrative-predominant actions such as billing and documentation to complex medical tasks such as treatment recommendations, clinical data analysis, and even accurate survival predictions based on precision oncology. Despite having less than 50 employees, many experts have considered the company a promising enterprise since its start. In its quest to aid oncologists in making more confident decisions based on data analytics results, Oncora Medical has raised $5,6M in total funding.(1,2,3)

Up to the challenge

Cancer is a complex disease to tackle and one of the biggest challenges to the medical community. Many factors play a role in this complexity, including etiology, therapy, and costs. Although some cancers are determined to be caused by genetic predisposition or environmental exposure, others have not shown clear associations to any identified risk factors and remain of unknown etiology. Cancer therapies, including surgical and medical, must be tailored to each patient considering histopathology, staging, prognosis, life expectancy, patient comorbidities, and clinical data collected by healthcare providers.

Additionally, treatment costs are considerable (commonly referred to as “financial toxicity”), and introducing insurance billing and coverage only deepens the issue’s complexity.(4,5)

Cancer therapies, including surgical and medical, must be tailored to each patient considering histopathology, staging, prognosis, life expectancy, patient comorbidities, and clinical data collected by healthcare providers. Additionally, treatment costs are considerable (commonly referred to as “financial toxicity”), and introducing insurance billing and coverage only deepens the issue’s complexity.(4,5)

Two sides of a coin

Oncora Medical’s tools are designed to simplify these complex considerations. It uses two main software tools: Oncora Patient Care and Oncora Analytics. The end-user of Oncora Patient Care is the physician. The software introduces all essential elements into oncology decision-making on an individual yet comprehensive basis, therefore allowing their integration into the consultation. Oncora Analytics end-users are the scientists who gather real-time clinical information and treatment outcomes and interpret and analyze this data. Investigators use this information to gain discernment about global treatment outcomes, patient cohorts for clinical trials, and similar characteristics between patients and their relationship with their response or not to treatment. Moreover, this tool also considers imaging data in the analysis for a more profound analysis of outcomes based on location, extension, and tumor progression in question. These products use data generated daily and outcomes from each case to provide evidence-based recommendations for cancer therapies, including radiation and surgical oncology.(6,7,8)

Investigators use this information to gain discernment about global treatment outcomes, patient cohorts for clinical trials, and similar characteristics between patients and their relationship with their response or not to treatment. Moreover, this tool also considers imaging data in the analysis for a more profound analysis of outcomes based on location, extension, and tumor progression in question. These products use data generated daily and outcomes from each case to provide evidence-based recommendations for cancer therapies, including radiation and surgical oncology.(6,7,8)

Never forget, it is not all about survival

Although marketed separately, these products represent a symbiosis. Scientists benefit from the data generation and gathering in the clinical setting, and physicians do from current research trends, associations, and personalized care. Features worth noting of these products include imaging and quality of life assessment and analysis, a crucial aspect that is a commonly forgotten consideration in these patients. Depression, poor treatment compliance, and compromised quality of life are associated with individuals to whom the disease and its management impose significant limitations on daily life activities.(6,7)

Together, stronger

Oncora Medical announced in 2017 that the company had joined efforts with The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, considered one of the world’s most prestigious centers devoted exclusively to management, research, education, and prevention of cancer. One of this alliance’s objectives is to enhance the MD Anderson Center’s web-based clinical documentation tool, called Brocade, with a platform developed by Oncora. This precision medicine software will be an excellent asset for the radiology oncology field by improving and predicting survival rates and minimizing side effects.

Another partnership of the AI company is the recent collaboration with New York state’s largest healthcare provider, Northwell Health. The integrated clinical data from outcomes of more than 50,000 patients treated at Northwell provides physicians with statistics to design a more customized treatment for their patients.(9)

This precision medicine software will be an excellent asset for the radiology oncology field by improving and predicting survival rates and minimizing side effects. Another partnership of the AI company is the recent collaboration with New York state’s largest healthcare provider, Northwell Health. The integrated clinical data from outcomes of more than 50,000 patients treated at Northwell provides physicians with statistics to design a more customized treatment for their patients.(9)

Analyzing further

The company recently embarked on two more strategic collaborations. The first is with Varian, a machine learning and data analytics enterprise. Varian is dedicated to building cancer care technologies, developing intuitive software to predict outcomes of new patient treatments, and minimizing the risk of toxicity. The other is with Tmunity Therapeutics, a biotherapeutics company. Oncora’s platform will support the designs of future trials with cell therapy.(9)

The other is with Tmunity Therapeutics, a biotherapeutics company. Oncora’s platform will support the designs of future trials with cell therapy.(9)

Recognition out of this world

Fruitful outcomes, especially in the challenging field of oncology, should not go unnoticed. That is the reason why Oncora’s research on the advantages of using machine learning to manage cancer was selected this year by the American Society for Radiation Oncology (ASTRO) virtual Innovation Hub for its achievements and presentation.(9,10)

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