LONDON, Dec. 9, 2013 /PRNewswire/ -- Based on its recent research on the tissue diagnostics and pathology imaging market, Frost & Sullivan presents Definiens with the 2013 Global Frost & Sullivan Award for Company of the Year. In the past, Definiens focused primarily on life sciences but the company is also establishing a toehold in tissue diagnostics and clinical digital pathology. Definiens' proprietary solutions, such as Definiens Tissue Studio® and Definiens Image Miner™, have set industry benchmarks with their unique capabilities to deliver the best-in-class image interpretation and data mining. This enables the morphological features of tissue slides to be rapidly quantitated, a process Definiens refers to as tissue datafication.
Many laboratories still persist with manual methodologies and image scoring platforms to extract and analyze data from histological slides. Definiens' solutions aim to ease the process by offering image analysis and data mining solutions in the area of drug discovery and clinical diagnostic product development. The company's solutions have a flexible architecture that enables rapid prototyping of assays and its technology is uniquely positioned to help improve treatment outcomes for patients and aids the development of personalized medicine.
The reason for Definiens' leading position in the area of tissue datafication lies in its patented Definiens Cognition Network Technology®, which mimics the human mind's cognitive powers to reposition knowledge within a semantic network. This technology, invented by Nobel Prize winner Gerd Binnig, is able to understand and analyze image features in the context of their surroundings--something no other solution can achieve. Therefore, due to its ability to accelerate cellular biomarker screening and translational research, Definiens' technology will be a game changer in the drug discovery process.
Definiens' success in the life sciences, tissue diagnostics and digital pathology can be traced to its ability to cater to varied set ups such as individual labs and multisite/multi-laboratory installations. The company is also a pioneer in enterprise deployment.
"Definiens is able to add value to its technology leadership position by forming strategic, worldwide, non-exclusive co-development and marketing agreements to deliver tailored applications," said Frost & Sullivan Senior Research Analyst Divyaa Ravishankar.
Definiens has rightly identified the potential of accurate image analysis to transform cancer diagnosis. In 2013, Definiens and Metamark Genetics signed a multi-year agreement to be the sole supplier of automated image analysis technology for the newly launched ProMark™ prostate cancer prognostic test. The test enables improved treatment decisions over current subjective pathology reads through automatic classification of prostate tumor regions and quantification of novel biomarker expression in biopsies.
Similarly, in 2013, Definiens and Advanced Cell Diagnostics launched a software for quantitative RNA in situ hybridization, which can help detect and quantify RNA in individual cells of interest in heterogeneous tissues.
Owing to these novel technologies, Definiens currently has more than 2,000 installations globally, and a clientele of more than 20 pharmaceutical companies. Until 2012, the company had completed over 500 custom research projects for the biopharmaceutical industry, translational research, and clinical research.
"Overall, its interoperability with all the leading digital scanners worldwide has made Definiens the preferred image intelligence company for many tissue diagnostic and anatomic pathology laboratories worldwide," concludes Ravishankar.
Each year, Frost & Sullivan presents this award to the company that has demonstrated excellence in terms of growth strategy and implementation. The award recognizes a high degree of innovation with products and technologies and the resulting leadership in terms of customer value and market penetration.
Frost & Sullivan's Best Practices Awards recognize companies in a variety of regional and global markets for demonstrating outstanding achievement and superior performance in areas such as leadership, technological innovation, customer service, and strategic product development. Industry analysts compare market participants and measure performance through in-depth interviews, analysis, and extensive secondary research in order to identify best practices in the industry.
