Pathcore, Inc.

Project Overview: 

Pathcore  is a digital pathology software company based in Toronto, Ontario. Its founders developed a scanner agnostic software used in digital pathology image analysis and wanted to bring it to market, but realized they didn’t have the in-house resources necessary to do all the foundational work.

Need or Opportunity: 

Pathcore sought out CIMTEC because of our expertise in image processing, image analysis, digital pathology and business development services specifically designed for early-stage startups. CIMTEC acted as an integral member of the Pathcore team, providing services that have helped it build a strong foundation for the company’s future success.

Solution: 

By working closely with Pathcore’s founders and understanding their unique situation, we were able to tailor a solution to their needs. We conducted freedom-to-operate and patentability searches to assess the IP landscape and were able to produce a summary analysis that provided context about what relevant patents already exist and how Pathcore’s technology was differentiated in the market and potentially patentable. We provided an assessment of the regulatory class of Pathcore’s product in Canada, the U.S. and Europe, and described how comparable products have previously been cleared for approval.

Progress: 

Using our customer research strategy we helped Pathcore identify and connect with key opinion leaders, gaining important insights for establishing Pathcore’s value proposition. In addition to providing important information, the interviewees have become engaged in Pathcore’s progress and have expressed interest in seeing more of its platform.

In March 2016, Pathcore received $4million in funding from the National Cancer Institute (the US Government's principal agency for cancer research).  The $4M (CAD) development project involves six leading cancer centres from across Canada and the U.S. and will allow Pathcore to expand the translating and validating of automated cancer diagnostics into clinical tools. Pathcore’s free downloadable software is already being used in over 100 institutions in more than 22 countries with the NCI funding promising to extend that reach even further.

A partnership agreement with Visopharm in November extended Pathcore's reach internationally.  

Most recently, Pathcore took top honours at the RESI Innovation Challenge (Jaunuary 2017).  Selected from over 100 applicants, Pathcore won the first place honour for "the innovative nature of their core technology and how well-positioned [they are]... to capitalize on their respective market opportunities"