Varian announced a new $10M investment and collaboration agreement with COTA Inc., a Boston-based curator of clinical data in oncology. Both companies will work together to empower cancer clinics with data analytics and decision support tools, using real-world evidence to help guide clinical and operational decisions as well as drive more cost-effective care.
 
Under the agreement, Varian will offer its customers access to COTA's oncology real-world analytics and data curation services, which aggregate fragmented and often incomplete electronic health record (EHR) data to tease out meaningful insights. At the same time, COTA will help Varian create better Intelligent Cancer Care tools for decision support using real world evidence.
 
Varian, through its Intelligent Cancer Care initiative, is working to create a technology ecosystem that connects clinicians and patients into a global continuously learning system that is fueled by information, driven by collaboration and accelerated by artificial intelligence (AI) to improve outcomes.
 
"This agreement with COTA represents a huge win for our two companies, and also for oncology care providers and researchers," said Corey Zankowski, Senior Vice President, Oncology Software Solutions. "We believe COTA's proprietary technology, advanced analytics, and deep expertise in organizing complex data will make a significant step toward realizing the goals of Intelligent Cancer Care," Zankowski said.
 
"We are excited to partner with Varian to advance our shared goal of improving outcomes for cancer patients," said Mike Doyle, CEO of COTA. "This collaboration allows Varian to leverage our expertise using oncology real-world data while providing COTA with new capital to expand our work with life science companies around the globe."
 
Varian made two prior investments in COTA earlier this year. This latest investment brings the total amount invested to $20M, in the form of a convertible loan with an option to acquire the company at a future date.