Dive Brief:
- Merck KGaA has inked a high-tech collaboration deal with data analysis specialist Palantir Technologies to gain access to the U.S. software company's advanced data and analytics platform.
- The initial focus of the three-year deal will be oncology, and will include a collaborative data and analytics platform to support medical research and drug development, as well as a "global patient intimacy" project, focusing on adherence and real-world drug efficacy.
- The data platform will also be applied in patient services to look at improved global supply chain forecasting, improving the delivery of drugs to patients.
Dive Insight:
Big data has been a buzzword over the last decade, from data in patient records to the genome sequences of individual tumors. The growing realization is that bigger isn't always better and it’s the analysis that really counts. Few companies have the capabilities in house to be able to analyze their own data. This is where specialists like Palantir Technologies, who have created software to support analysis of large datasets, including real-world data, come in to play.
"At the heart of Palantir’s mission is the desire to bring new tools to solve the world’s most difficult problems," said Alexander Karp, founder and CEO of Palantir. "When something like cancer is killing 8.2 million people each year, we want to do everything we can to apply our technological expertise to the fight, alongside partners who have been there since the beginning."
Eventually, Merck KGaA will apply Palantir's technology across all three of its sectors – healthcare, life science, and performance materials.
Other Merck KGaA deals also signed in January 2017 confirm the company's cancer focus, including snagging a pipeline of five clinical and preclinical cancer drugs from Vertex Pharmaceuticals.
Merck KGaA also hooked up with MD Anderson Cancer Center to access the institution's APOLLO platform. This will help it to advance the development of oncology and immunooncology drugs for breast and colorectal cancer, glioblastoma and leukemia. The platform standardizes the long-term collection of patients’ medical history and data derived from tissue samples to support research-driven patient care.
In another collaboration deal, also signed in January 2017, Stanford Graduate School of Business will supply Merck KGaA with advanced training in innovation and digitalization.