Varian Acquires Noona Healthcare to Expand Cancer Care Portfolio

Varian announced the acquisition of privately-held software company Noona Healthcare, developer of a cloud-based, mobile service designed to capture cancer patient-reported outcomes (PROs). The Noona patient software app lets clinics capture PROs and communicate directly with patients. This acquisition expands Varian’s portfolio of cancer care solutions and fits the company’s long-term growth and value creation strategy.
 
Noona’s intuitive user interface creates an engaging experience for patients that encourages a high rate of adoption and adherence over long periods. Noona helps patients and care teams to proactively manage patient symptoms, which could lead to improved clinical outcomes and reduced hospitalization and emergency room visits.
 
“PROs represent a growing and significant metric in evidence-based clinical care and translational research,” said Dow Wilson, president and chief executive officer, Varian. “With this acquisition, Varian gains new partnerships with life-sciences and pharma companies as the Noona software app is used to engage patients, collect PRO data, manage patient communications and enable clinical studies that will test the efficacy of treatment modalities when treating cancer.”
 
Varian plans on combining its 360 Oncology SaaS platform with Noona’s patient user interface to offer a robust solution that lets patients actively engage with their cancer care team through treatment, recovery and post-treatment care. Varian also plans to further expand Noona’s portfolio of real-world evidence-driven services, such as PROs, to other key stakeholders to enable outcomes studies, clinical trials, and digital therapeutics.
 
“We are excited to add the Noona technology and team to Varian as we continue to become a global leader in multi-disciplinary integrated cancer care solutions, focused on improving patient care,” said Corey Zankowski, senior vice president, Oncology Software Solutions, Varian. “This acquisition adds smart mobile technology to Varian’s cloud-based software portfolio. It will allow oncologists to capture real-time PROs and monitor and proactively manage their patient’s symptoms.  Sustained engagement with patients may help oncologists detect early signs of potential recurrence or progression of metastatic disease.”
 
“The combination of the Noona software app with Varian’s 360 Oncology is a natural fit,” said Jani Ahonala, chief executive officer, Noona Healthcare. “With this acquisition, we have the opportunity to expand the global availability of the Noona technology to the clinical community and elevate the voice of the patient in their cancer care.”