Press release
December 20, 2023

Owkin and Cerba Path collaborate to use AI to improve breast and colorectal cancer diagnosis

  • Cerba Path will use RlapsRisk® BC,1 an innovative AI solution designed to help physicians assess the risk of relapse in early breast cancer patients.
  • Cerba Path will integrate MSIntuit® CRC, Owkin’s CE-IVD marked AI diagnostic to enhance MSI testing through a pre-screening approach for colorectal cancer patients, helping physicians to determine the best eligible treatment options.
  • Cerba Path will participate in the validation of an extended version of MSIntuit® CRC spanning surgical resections and biopsies.

Owkin, a techbio company using artificial intelligence to accelerate precision medicine by discovering and developing new drugs and diagnostics and Cerba Path, the Cerba HealthCare’s network of pathologists, today announced a new partnership. The two companies will work together to integrate Owkin’s cutting-edge AI-driven diagnostics into Cerba Path’s routine digital workflows and further validate AI-based tools for precision medicine. 

This partnership between Owkin and Cerba Path will have Cerba Path deploy Owkin’s technology to enhance pathologists’ and clinicians’ ability to accelerate precision medicine and deliver better patient care. Owkin’s AI diagnostics will benefit from Cerba Path’s fully digitized workflow and be able to reach a broader audience of pathologists who can access the Cerba Path platform remotely from any location in France. 

Jérôme Sallette, Chief Scientific Officer of Cerba HealthCare states:

The development of AI-based biomarkers and diagnostics and their implementation into clinical routine are essential to unlock the potential of AI for improving prevention and patient care as well as accelerate the development of new drugs and new tests. This is a vital part of our innovation strategy and this partnership with Owkin represents an important milestone for delivering faster results and standardizing processes towards better healthcare.

Owkin’s AI diagnostic offering includes MSIntuit® CRC, the first CE-marked diagnostic that optimizes testing for microsatellite instability with routine H&E slides, and is developing RlapsRisk®  BC, a risk assessment tool for recurrence in early breast cancer. Owkin is also developing several other oncology based tools to enable more accessible diagnosis for precision therapies across the globe.

Meriem Sefta, Chief Diagnostics Officer at Owkin, said:

In launching a multi-site, multi-project collaboration with Cerba Path, we expect to expand and accelerate access to cutting-edge diagnostic solutions. We’re eager for this initiative to provide more labs with advanced AI solutions that can address day-to-day challenges pathologists face, while also improving patient access to targeted precision therapies. Cerba Path brings unrivalled expertise together with 1 billion slides per year gathered from more than 3000 points of collection: this increases the reach for Owkin’s AI diagnostics significantly.

1 RlapsRisk® BC is a medical device under development, and not for clinical use.

About Cerba HealthCare

Cerba HealthCare, a leading global player in medical diagnostics, aims to support the evolution of health systems towards more prevention. It draws on more than 50 years of expertise in clinical pathology to better assess the risk of diseases development, detect and diagnose diseases earlier, and optimize the effectiveness of personalized medicine.

Every day, on five continents, the Group's 15,000 employees sustain the transformation of medicine, driven by one deep conviction: to advance diagnosis is to advance health.

Cerba HealthCare, enlightening health.

Additional information is available at www.cerbahealthcare.com

Press contacts

Owkin US/UK

Edward Farmer

[email protected]

Owkin France 

Malika Labou 

[email protected]


Cerba HealthCare

Emmanuelle Saby

[email protected]

Aurélie Le Franc

[email protected]

About Owkin

Owkin is the first full-stack TechBio company on a mission to understand complex biology and derive new multimodal biomarkers through AI.

We identify precision therapeutics, de-risk and accelerate clinical trials and develop diagnostics using AI trained on world-class patient data through privacy-enhancing technologies. We merge wet lab experiments with advanced AI techniques to create a powerful feedback loop for accelerated discovery and innovation in oncology, cardiovascular, immunity and inflammation.

Owkin also founded MOSAIC, the world’s largest spatial multi-omics atlas for cancer research across seven cancer indications.

Owkin has raised over $300 million through investments from leading biopharma companies, including Sanofi and BMS, and venture funds like F-Prime, GV and Bpifrance, among others.