Danaher Corporation launched a research collaboration with Stanford University's Department of Bioengineering intended to shape the future of cancer drug screening through smart microscopy. Combining spatial biology with artificial intelligence (AI), the research team at the Danaher Beacon for Spatialomics aims to help de-risk cancer drug development. Tumors are highly variable, not just from tumor to tumor but within each tumor itself.

This variation in the microenvironment leads to unpredictable clinical outcomes, including high failure rates during clinical trials. The collaboration aims to leverage the latest findings in spatial biology coupled with cutting-edge AI to make it possible to screen more complex cellular systems. The outcome could be an analysis engine that can detect spatial, proteomic, and metabolic changes in the tumor microenvironment and more accurately predict how tumors will respond to potential therapies. The collaboration is the latest addition to the Danaher Beacons program, which funds product-driven scientific research with globally recognized academic investigators.