Owkin and Newcastle upon Tyne Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust announce five-year AI partnership to accelerate medical discovery

London, July 3, 2025 - Owkin, a leading agentic AI company, and Newcastle upon Tyne Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, one of the largest NHS trusts in the UK, have entered a five-year partnership to explore how agentic AI can help accelerate breakthroughs and advance drug discovery, development, and diagnostics.

To kick off the partnership, Newcastle is supporting a new project to develop an AI-powered product to screen for gBRCA mutations (gBRCAm) in breast cancer directly from digitized pathology slides. The solution, called BRCAura®, aims to significantly enhance the efficiency of BRCA mutation identification, through providing faster assessment by leveraging routinely generated H&E slides.

BRCAura® could greatly streamline the gBRCA testing process, allowing oncologists and genetic counselors to accelerate genetic testing for high-risk patients, and incorporate the results into the treatment planning process without delays. Newcastle joins a number of centres conducting performance validation studies with the tool. 

The partnership also sees Newcastle join Owkin’s ATLANTIS program, an international initiative of 20 leading hospitals across seven countries to optimise and harmonise patient data for AI-driven research. By contributing to this multimodal data discovery effort, Newcastle will help build a stronger foundation for AI led products in oncology and other disease areas, supporting earlier intervention and more personalised care for patients. 

“We’re thrilled to welcome Newcastle upon Tyne Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust to the Owkin network,” said Ramandeep Ghuman, EU Head of Partnerships at Owkin. “By working closely with world-class institutions like Newcastle, we can build the tools and intelligence to change how medicine is discovered, developed, and delivered to patients everywhere.”

“We are excited to partner with Owkin on this ambitious programme to explore how cutting-edge AI can unlock new possibilities in medical research and diagnostics. By combining our clinical and research expertise with Owkin’s advanced technologies, we hope to accelerate the development of tools that improve outcomes for patients, particularly in complex diseases like cancer. By applying advanced AI to accelerate the identification of genetic mutations, like gBRCA, we can help in the development of tools to ensure that patients receive faster, more accurate diagnoses and more personalized treatment plans.” Vicky McFarlane-Reid, Director for Commercial Development and Innovation at Newcastle upon Tyne Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust.

Press enquiries: michelle.shearly@owkin.com

About Newcastle upon Tyne Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust

Newcastle upon Tyne Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust is one of the largest NHS trusts in the UK providing a comprehensive range of acute and specialist healthcare services and is a leading centre for oncology services offering advanced cancer diagnostics, treatments and research. It is home to the Northern Centre for Cancer Care (NCCC) which provides cutting-edge radiotherapy, chemotherapy, immunotherapy and surgical oncology services and is a key site for clinical trials, driving innovation in cancer treatment.