PathAI enters into clinical diagnostics through acquisition of Poplar Healthcare Management

BOSTON and MEMPHIS, Tenn., July 26, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- PathAI, a global provider of artificial intelligence-powered technology for pathology, announced their acquisition of Poplar, the management service organization for Poplar Healthcare PLLC, an industry-leading independent anatomic pathology laboratory services provider. 

"Our mission at PathAI is to improve patient outcomes with AI-powered pathology and the investment in Poplar allows us to advance that mission by enhancing our ability to provide pathologists with PathAI diagnostic products to support patient care.'' said Andy Beck MD, PhD, co-founder and CEO of PathAI.  "Poplar is a top tier lab with a dedicated team known for their accuracy of diagnosis and turnaround time.  PathAI's investments in digital pathology and artificial intelligence will further enhance Poplar's value proposition to providers across the United States."

Memphis-based Poplar Healthcare supports physicians across the country with its GI Pathology, D-PATH Dermatology, OncoMetrix, Bostwick Laboratories and Women's Health Laboratories specialized testing services. Poplar's facilities, management team and 350 employees now comprise PathAI's diagnostics division, which will remain based in Memphis. Together, PathAI and Poplar will be investing to further digitize the Poplar laboratory workflow, and leverage PathAI's image analysis and algorithm development capabilities to unlock new clinical applications.

Jim Sweeney, CEO of Poplar, noted, "We looked for a partner that values our reputation for accuracy and reliability, appreciates the dedication and skill of our employees, and shares our passion to help clinicians continuously improve pathology services for patients. Most importantly, we looked for a partner interested in transforming pathology, leveraging technology and AI to enhance pathologists' work and better equip them to serve patients and clinicians. We found the ideal partner in PathAI."

In partnering with Poplar Healthcare, PathAI adds traditional laboratory services at scale to its already powerful suite of AI-powered pathology tools. Combining the companies' complementary expertise provides PathAI with end-to-end capabilities to support the development and delivery of new and distinctive AI-driven products for drug development and for patient care.

The transaction follows the close of PathAI's Series C Financing of $165M co-led by D1 Capital Partners and Kaiser Permanente. The round included existing lead investors General Atlantic and General Catalyst as well as strategic partners Bristol-Myers Squibb Company and Merck Global Health Innovation Fund (GHI).

About Poplar Healthcare
Founded in 1995 and headquartered in Memphis, Poplar Healthcare is a leading anatomic laboratory services company that provides specialized laboratory testing services to a nationwide client base of gastroenterologists, dermatologists, oncologists, urologists, gynecologists and their patients. For more information visit www.poplarhealthcare.com.

About PathAI
PathAI is a leading provider of AI-powered research tools and services for pathology. PathAI's platform promises substantial improvements to the accuracy of diagnosis and the efficacy of treatment of diseases like cancer, leveraging modern approaches in machine and deep learning. Based in Boston, PathAI works with leading life sciences companies and researchers to advance precision medicine. To learn more, visit www.pathai.com

SOURCE PathAI