Amanda Lowe, Senior Vice President and Andreas Schønau, Chief Scientific Officer of Visiopharm, a solution provider company at the marcus evans Discovery Summit 2015, on how quantitative digital pathology can enhance the drug discovery process. Interview with: Amanda Lowe, Senior Vice President & Andreas Schønau, Chief Scientific Officer, Visiopharm

1. Image Analysis:
A Vital Tool in Drug Discovery
Interview with: Amanda Lowe,
Senior Vice President & Andreas
Schønau, Chief Scientific Officer,
Visiopharm
“We are at a very exciting time when it
comes to digital pathology and image
analysis as we are now seeing the first
pathology laboratories use Visiopharm
image analysis for in-vitro diagnostics.
This is a huge step forward and a step
that will benefit not only laboratories
and patients, but also the pharmaceuti-
cal and diagnostic industry as it will
enable more widespread use of
quantitative measures that have so far
been limited to high-end discovery and
research facilities,” says Andreas
Schønau, Chief Scientific Officer,
Visiopharm.
Visiopharm, is a solution provider
company, attending the marcus evans
Discovery Summit 2015 in Las Vegas,
Nevada, September 21-22.
What knowledge is missing from
drug discovery today?
Amanda: The way that the knowledge is
generated is not always effective. A lot
of the knowledge created around, for
example target validation or the testing
of lead compounds, is often very
subjective and qualitative.
Image analysis enables drug companies
to eliminate subjectivity, and provide
verifiable, quantitative results. It can
also reduce inter and intra reader
variability by creating standardized best
practices for obtaining important
information about tissue sam-
ples. Important decisions can then
confidently be made by maximizing the
scientific study of tissue in a measurable
and reproducible way.
How can pharmaceutical companies
improve their discovery process?
Amanda: Most importantly, the quality
of scientific data must be reproducible
and verifiable. Data must lead to
confident, go or no-go decisions around
the drug development process.
The process should also be done in a
productive and cost effective way by
making accurate decisions to achieve
more results, in less time. That is where
quantitative digital pathology, whole
slide scanners and image analysis
software, can really make a difference.
Quantitative digital pathology is the
right innovation to drive up productivity,
control costs, and provide the scientific
data required to make confident
decisions.
Andreas: Image analysis can improve
the discovery phase by providing
metrics that cannot be achieved in any
other way. It supports testing of
samples in ways that are too compli-
cated to be achieved and reproduced by
the human eye. It also leads to
workflow improvement, by allowing the
scientists to analyze more samples and
get more accurate results out of the
available material, thereby reducing the
risk of failed studies.
Digital pathology and image analysis are
tools that support the sharing of
images, methods and results in a more
non-subjective way. It promotes
collaboration between academia and
pharmaceutical sectors and helps them
to speak the same language, alleviating
misunderstandings and eliminate
unexpected interpretations.
What is the key in evolving research
into clinical practice?
Andreas: Bridging the gap between
research and clinical practice is an
everyday challenge for drug develop-
ment companies. Tools and methods for
drug research and discovery have to be
very open and flexible, yet quantitative
and precise, to accommodate the many
questions and validate the many
hypotheses that are investigated during
the early phases of drug development.
In clinical practice, the demands
change, and tools have to be standard-
ized, easy to use and very robust in
order to meet the requirements and
challenges of analyzing real patient
samples in a busy routine laboratory.
Image analysis has been used in
research for years but now the
technological development of image
analysis software and whole slide
scanners is getting to a stage where it
not only offers opportunities for
significant value creation in pharma
research, but also allows for implemen-
tation in routine clinical diagnostics.
Quantitative Digital Pathology is the
strong bridge that will span the gap
between research and clinical practice,
while ensuring high quality, consistent
data and workflow improvements at the
same time.
Data must lead
to confident,
go or no-go
decisions
around the drug
development

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About the Discovery Summit 2015
The Discovery Summit is the premium forum bringing senior drug discovery
executives and solution providers together. As an invitation-only event taking place
behind closed doors, the Summit offers an intimate environment for a focused
discussion on state of the art solutions, technology and information shaping the
future of the industry. Taking place at Red Rock Resort & Spa, Las Vegas, Nevada,
USA, September 21-22, 2015, the Summit includes presentations on target
discovery and validation, collaboration between big pharma, academia and non
profits, identifying new methods for drug screening and strategies to gaining the
best ROI.
http://discovery.marcusevans-summits.com
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About Visiopharm
Over the past 15 years, Visiopharm image analysis software has become the preferred Quantitative Digital Pathology solution for
scientists and pathologists all over the world. Biopharmaceutical companies, contract research organizations (CRO), academic
medical centers, and hospital diagnostic pathology labs partner with Visiopharm to reveal answers to the toughest scientific
questions surrounding biomarker discovery, companion diagnostics, and the characterization of physiological structures in tissue.
Visiopharm’s software has been featured in over 800 scientific publications and is compatible with leading slide scanners and data
management software.
www.visiopharm.com
About marcus evans Summits
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For more information, please visit: www.marcusevans.com
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