Elucidata and Sapien Biosciences Partner to Convert Biobank Data into AI-Ready Products for Drug Discovery and Precision Medicine

Elucidata, a leader in data-centric AI for drug discovery and translational research, and Sapien Biosciences, India's foremost commercial biobank, have entered into a strategic partnership to transform Sapien’s extensive biobank assets into high-quality, AI-ready data products. This collaboration aims to enhance the value of real-world patient data, driving precision medicine and lowering the costs associated with drug and diagnostic development. Located in San Francisco and Hyderabad, Elucidata specializes in integrating and harmonizing fragmented biomedical data using its proprietary Polly platform. Sapien Biosciences, founded in partnership with Apollo Hospitals, boasts a collection of over 300,000 patient samples, including 2 million pathology specimens, spanning various diseases such as oncology, cardiology, autoimmune, inflammation, neurology, and others. Among these, more than 85,000 samples belong to cancer patients, accompanied by digitized histopathology images, genomic profiles, and structured longitudinal clinical data. This makes Sapien one of the top 10 biobanks globally and the largest source of integrated Asian patient data. Dr. Jugnu Jain, CEO and Co-founder of Sapien Biosciences, emphasized the significance of this partnership: "At Sapien, we are committed to leveraging deeply characterized patient data, particularly from underrepresented populations in India, to develop more inclusive and effective diagnostics and therapies for the world. Working with Elucidata allows us to convert our rich datasets into formats that are compatible with advanced AI technologies, thereby unlocking their full potential for translational research, patient stratification, and drug development." The initial phase of the collaboration will focus on creating AI models to infer genomic and transcriptomic insights from digital pathology images. Utilizing next-generation sequencing (NGS)-annotated slides from Sapien’s cancer biobank, the project aims to generate synthetic multi-modal datasets. These datasets will be crucial for developing next-generation diagnostic tools and implementing tissue-sparing research strategies, especially beneficial for rare cancers and conditions where biopsy specimens are limited. Dr. Abhishek Jha, CEO and Co-founder of Elucidata, highlighted the importance of Sapien’s assets: "Sapien’s unparalleled scale, sample quality, and depth of data are vital to our mission of democratizing access to high-quality, AI-ready biomedical data. Our Polly platform will bridge the gap between these fragmented samples and the sophisticated AI models needed to expedite target discovery and biomarker validation." Beyond oncology, the partnership will explore applications across multiple disease areas within Sapien’s biobank, including cardiovascular, autoimmune, and neurological disorders. The goal is to build synthetic clinicogenomic datasets that can significantly aid pharmaceutical and diagnostic research and development (R&D), enhancing the precision and effectiveness of medical practices. Industry insider Dr. Navjot Singh, an advisor at Elucidata and a healthcare leader with 22 years of experience, commented on the partnership: "The collaboration between Elucidata and Sapien Biosciences combines Sapien’s extensive, high-quality biobank resources and Elucidata’s prowess in AI-powered data integration. This innovative approach has the potential to accelerate global health innovations and simplify the complex nature of human biology for both research and patient care." Elucidata has recently demonstrated its leadership in data-centric AI by ranking 7th in the Broad Institute’s Autoimmune Disease Machine Learning Challenge and winning the National Cancer Institute's Cancer Research Data Commons AI Data Readiness Challenge. These achievements underscore Elucidata's capability to transform raw datasets into actionable insights. Sapien Biosciences, meanwhile, has published over 10 peer-reviewed studies using Indian patient data and collaborates with leading diagnostic and pharma companies to address the representation gap in global omics datasets. By integrating Elucidata’s data harmonization technologies with Sapien’s comprehensive biobank, this partnership is poised to revolutionize the field of translational research and precision medicine. In summary, the alliance between Elucidata and Sapien Biosciences leverages cutting-edge AI and a vast, diverse biobank to advance medical research and development, particularly in areas where patient data has historically been underrepresented. The potential impact on the creation of more inclusive and effective diagnostic and therapeutic solutions is significant, marking a pivotal step towards a more equitable and data-driven future in healthcare.