In a sign that awareness of medical diagnostic testing continues to grow during the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic, the Mayo Clinic announced it will invest $49 million to build a new laboratory space on its campus in Rochester, Minn. As part of the multi-year project, several clinical labs will eventually relocate to an expanded area of an existing building. The move will allow the labs to have more workspace and more modern facilities. Construction is expected to be completed in 2025. The project will enable Mayo Clinic Laboratories to provide more access to its testing catalog for patients around the world.
MORE ON: Laboratory Expansion
Meanwhile, Summit Health based in Berkeley Heights, N.J., opened a 50,000-square-foot pathology laboratory in April. The lab, located in Woodland Park, N.J., will serve Summit Health’s more than 2,500 providers practicing at over 340 locations in New Jersey, New York, Connecticut, Pennsylvania, and Central Oregon. It will be one of the few physician-group-owned laboratories in the U.S., according to Summit Health. With 80 employees staffing the site, the laboratory expects to process eight million test specimens in its first year, reported NorthJersey.com.
DIGITAL PATHOLOGY SETS STAGE FOR PHARMA PARTNERSHIP
Digital pathology continues to blaze new paths. Pharmaceutical giants Roche and Bristol Myers Squibb have announced they will use the digital technology as part of a new collaboration. In one project under this partnership, Roche Digital Pathology is developing an AI-based image analysis algorithm to aid pathologists in interpreting an immunohistochemical assay. Bristol Myers Squibb then will use this algorithm to generate biomarker data from clinical trial samples. In a second project, Roche will use its recently announced collaboration with image analysis technology firm PathAI to integrate a PathAI algorithm with Roche’s NAVIFY digital pathology software. Subsequently, Bristol Myers Squibb will use the PathAI algorithm to analyze clinical trial samples.
TRANSITIONS
• Julie Ramage is now the new Global Director, Biopharma, at Ambry Genetics in Aliso Viejo, Calif. Previously, Ramage served at AstraZeneca, Pfizer, PhenoPath Laboratories, Neogenomics, AD Path Labs, TriPath Imaging, US Labs, and Quest Diagnostics.
• Madison Core Laboratories in Huntsville, Ala., named Jeff Wisotzkey, PhD, as Chief Scientific Officer and Laboratory Director. Prior positions were with Phase2 Labs, Diatherix, Health Network Laboratories, as well as the Central PA Alliance Laboratory.
That’s all the insider intelligence for this report. Look for the next briefing on Monday, May 16, 2022.
