Elucidata Partners with Sapien Biosciences to Transform Biobank Data into AI-Ready Resources for Drug Discovery and Precision Medicine

Elucidata, a leading data-centric AI company for drug discovery and translational research, and Sapien Biosciences, India’s first and largest commercial biobank, have announced a strategic partnership aimed at transforming Sapien’s extensive biobank assets into high-quality, AI-ready data products. This collaboration, announced on September 15, 2023, seeks to integrate, standardize, and enrich Sapien's vast repository of biospecimens and curated clinical data, making them accessible for advanced genomics research and predictive modeling. The goal is to derive precise patient outcomes at scale and lower the cost of drug discovery. Sapien Biosciences, founded in partnership with Apollo Hospitals, boasts over 300,000 patient samples across various diseases, including oncology, cardiology, autoimmune, inflammation, and neurology. It particularly excels in cancer research, with more than 85,000 cancer patients' records, many of which are paired with digitized histopathology images, genomic profiles, and structured longitudinal clinical data. This comprehensive and integrated dataset makes Sapien one of the top 10 biobanks globally and the largest provider of Asian patient data. Dr. Jugnu Jain, CEO and Co-founder of Sapien Biosciences, emphasized the importance of this partnership in leveraging deeply characterized patient data from underrepresented populations, such as those in India, to drive more inclusive and effective diagnostics and therapies worldwide. "By converting our rich biological and clinical datasets into interoperable, AI-ready formats, we can unlock their potential for translational research, patient stratification, and precision drug development," he stated. The first phase of the collaboration will concentrate on creating AI models that can 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 are crucial for developing next-generation diagnostic tools and implementing tissue-sparing research strategies, especially for rare cancers and scenarios where biopsy specimens are limited. "Elucidata’s Polly platform will play a pivotal role in this transformation," noted Dr. Abhishek Jha, CEO and Co-founder of Elucidata. "Our platform facilitates the integration of electronic health records (EHRs), genomics, imaging, and clinical trial data, enabling seamless downstream analysis and model development." Jha highlighted that Sapien’s scale, sample quality, and data depth are essential in their mission to democratize access to high-quality, AI-ready biomedical data. Beyond oncology, the partnership will explore applications across multiple diseases within Sapien’s biobank, including cardiovascular, autoimmune, and neurological disorders. The initiative involves building synthetic clinicogenomic datasets to support pharmaceutical R&D and companion diagnostic development. These datasets are expected to significantly reduce the complexity of human biology for researchers, thereby accelerating the drug discovery process and improving patient outcomes. Industry experts, such as Dr. Navjot Singh, an advisor to Elucidata and a seasoned healthcare leader with over 22 years of experience, have commended the partnership. Singh noted, "This collaboration between Elucidata and Sapien Biosciences brings together Sapien’s extensive, high-quality biobank resources and Elucidata’s expertise in AI-powered data integration. By making rich biospecimens and clinical datasets AI-ready, this partnership has the potential to accelerate global innovation and enhance understanding for better patient care." Elucidata has demonstrated its prowess in data-centric AI through recent achievements, such as 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 accolades underscore Elucidata’s commitment to advancing life sciences through cutting-edge data integration. Sapien Biosciences, headquartered in Hyderabad, India, supports a wide range of research applications, from AI/ML modeling and multi-omics studies to drug screening in patient tumor-derived cells and biomarker discovery. The company has published over 10 peer-reviewed studies using Indian patient data and actively collaborates with top diagnostic and pharmaceutical firms to address the representation gap in global omics datasets. This strategic alliance marks a significant step towards bridging the gap between fragmented sample collections and the sophisticated AI models required to accelerate target discovery and biomarker validation. The integration of Sapien’s rich, diverse datasets with Elucidata’s advanced AI capabilities is poised to usher in a new era of data-driven precision medicine, benefiting both researchers and patients globally. Elucidata, founded in 2015, is headquartered in San Francisco with additional offices in the U.S. and India. The company has a proven track record in transforming biomedical data into actionable insights, contributing to 16 drug programs currently progressing toward FDA approval. Recognized for its innovation by the National Cancer Institute and Fast Company, Elucidata continues to lead the charge in data-centric AI for life sciences. Sapien Biosciences, established in 2014, is a pioneer in India’s healthcare sector, known for its comprehensive biobank and real-world evidence (RWE) services. With a robust infrastructure and a growing dataset, Sapien is committed to advancing personalized medicine through rigorous and inclusive research practices. Together, Elucidata and Sapien Biosciences are poised to make substantial contributions to the field, driving innovation and enhancing patient care.