iCAD and Solis Mammography Ink Deal to Collaborate on Use of AI to Evaluate Risk of Cardiovascular Disease
Multi-year strategic research and commercial
collaboration agreement aims to significantly impact preventative care and
underscores Company’s commitment to women’s health
NASHUA, N.H. – October 11, 2022 – iCAD, Inc. (NASDAQ: ICAD), a global medical technology leader providing
innovative cancer detection and therapy solutions, today announced a new
development and commercial collaboration agreement with Solis Mammography,
the largest independent provider of breast screening and diagnostic services in
the U.S. This collaboration will focus on using mammography to define
cardiovascular risk, a new application that could identify millions of women at
risk for heart disease using data obtained from their mammogram. As such, this
project will result in a powerful AI solution that will quantify the presence
of breast arterial calcifications in a mammogram to assess the risk of cardiovascular
disease (CVD).
“With heart disease being the
number one killer among women in the U.S.,[i]
this collaboration marks the initiation of a historical milestone for iCAD that
will not only offer the potential to address a significant unmet need in
patient care but also to penetrate a sizeable new market,” said Stacey Stevens,
President and CEO of iCAD, Inc. “iCAD and Solis Mammography are aligned in our
mutual goal to improve women’s health, and this initiative will further expand
our purpose and mission, extending our ability to positively impact women’s lives
into other areas outside of cancer detection and treatment.”
The new agreement will build upon
the ability of iCAD’s flagship artificial intelligence (AI) solution for breast
imaging, ProFound AI®, to both detect and quantify calcifications within the
arteries of the breast. Moreover, the model will seek to provide radiologists
with an evidence-based risk product that could help shape the trajectory of
their patients’ lives and improve their cardiovascular health. ProFound AI is a
high-performing breast cancer-detection and workflow solution that is already
in the marketplace and implemented throughout a growing number of leading
imaging facilities worldwide, including Solis Mammography centers. Trained on
one of the largest available datasets, ProFound AI was the first breast AI
technology for digital breast tomosynthesis (DBT), or 3D mammography, to be FDA
cleared.
Breast arterial calcifications (BACs)
are frequently observed on screening mammography images and were traditionally
overlooked as an incidental benign finding. Emerging research suggests,
however, that the amount of calcium in the arteries of the breast may correlate
with an increased risk of CVD.[ii],[iii][iv] One recent study suggests women with BACs are 23 percent
more likely to develop CVD, and are at a 51 percent higher risk for heart
disease and stroke than women whose mammograms did not show BACs.iii
“Our goal at
Solis Mammography is to advance the health of women through early detection. Heart
disease is often underdiagnosed in women and appropriate interventions are not initiated
when they can be most effective. Given that approximately 40 million women are
screened each year with mammography in the U.S. alone,[v] the
evaluation of BAC offers a simple, but accurate method to identify women at high
risk of CVD,” said Chirag Parghi, MD, Chief Medical Officer at Solis
Mammography. “We look forward to working closely with iCAD to develop a solution
that can unlock additional applications of the AI model in traditional
mammography to learn about risk factors that were previously ignored. As a
leader in breast imaging, it is our obligation to offer every possible bit of
information from the mammogram to our patients to help them advance their
health. We are pleased to partner with iCAD to help use today’s mammogram to
find tomorrow’s heart disease.”
This partnership expands the
companies’ relationship, as Solis Mammography adopted
iCAD’s Breast AI Suite across its entire network in 2020. With more than 100
locations in the U.S. and over one million women served each year, Solis
Mammography will provide clinical support for the BAC risk model. The company
will also assist in developing appropriate pathways for patients in order to
maximize the clinical value of the technology and accelerate adoption.
“When it comes to addressing this
critical need, we know that the best path forward is partnering with leading clinical
providers, as they understand the clinical pathways to apply it in daily
practice and the steps necessary to drive adoption in the market,” Stevens
added. “iCAD and Solis Mammography have worked closely together over the last two
years in the fight against breast cancer through the application of our Breast
AI Suite, and we look forward to working with their exceptional team to expand
on our shared mission and take on one of the greatest threats to women’s health.”
About iCAD, Inc.
Headquartered in
Nashua, NH, iCAD® is a global medical technology leader providing innovative
cancer detection and therapy solutions. For more information, visit www.icadmed.com.
About Solis Mammography
Solis Mammography is a specialized healthcare provider
that has been dedicated to helping
women achieve and maintain breast health and peace of mind for more than 35
years. Headquartered in Addison, Texas, Solis Mammography operates more than
100 centers in 13 major markets,
including Dallas-Fort Worth, Houston, Denver, Phoenix, Chicago, Philadelphia, Columbus, Cincinnati, Nashville,
Greensboro, Miami, Fort Lauderdale, and, through its affiliated brands
Washington Radiology and Progressive
Radiology, Washington, D.C., Maryland, and Virginia. The company operates both
wholly owned centers and multiple successful joint venture partnerships with
large hospital systems and prominent medical
and academic institutions.
Forward-Looking Statements
Certain statements contained in this News Release constitute
“forward-looking statements” within the meaning of the Private Securities
Litigation Reform Act of 1995, including statements about the expected benefits
of ProFound AI®, the benefits of the Company’s products, and future prospects
for the Company’s technology platforms and products. Such forward-looking
statements involve a number of known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other
factors which may cause the actual results, performance, or achievements of the
Company to be materially different from any future results, performance, or
achievements expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. Such
factors include, but are not limited, to the Company’s ability to achieve
business and strategic objectives, the willingness of patients to undergo
mammography screening in light of risks of potential exposure to Covid-19,
whether mammography screening will be treated as an essential procedure,
whether ProFound AI will improve reading efficiency, improve specificity and
sensitivity, reduce false positives and otherwise prove to be more beneficial
for patients and clinicians, the impact of supply and manufacturing constraints
or difficulties on our ability to fulfill our orders, uncertainty of future
sales levels, to defend itself in litigation matters, protection of patents and
other proprietary rights, product market acceptance, possible technological
obsolescence of products, increased competition, government regulation, changes
in Medicare or other reimbursement policies, risks relating to our existing and
future debt obligations, competitive factors, the effects of a decline in the
economy or markets served by the Company; and other risks detailed in the
Company’s filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The words
“believe,” “demonstrate,” “intend,” “expect,” “estimate,” “will,” “continue,”
“anticipate,” “likely,” “seek,” and similar expressions identify
forward-looking statements. Readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance
on those forward-looking statements, which speak only as of the date the
statement was made. The Company is under no obligation to provide any updates
to any information contained in this release. For additional disclosure
regarding these and other risks faced by iCAD, please see the disclosure
contained in our public filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission,
available on the Investors section of our website at http://www.icadmed.com and
on the SEC’s website at http://www.sec.gov.
Contact:
Media
Inquiries:
Jessica
Burns, iCAD
+1-201-423-4492
Investor
Inquiries:
iCAD
Investor Relations
[i]
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Women and Heart Disease. https://www.cdc.gov/heartdisease/women.htm
[ii] Ibarren
C. et al. Breast Arterial Calcification: a Novel Cardiovascular Risk Enhancer
Among Postmenopausal Women. Circulation: Cardiovascular Imaging.
2022;15. https://doi.org/10.1161/CIRCIMAGING.121.013526
[iii]
Polonsky TS, Greenland P. Breast Arterial Calcification. Circulation. 2017;135:499–501. https://www.ahajournals.org/doi/10.1161/CIRCULATIONAHA.116.025277
[iv]
Cameron NA, Khan SS. Leveraging Mammography as a Unique Opportunity for
Cardiovascular Health Promotion. Circulation: Cardiovascular Imaging. 2022;15. https://doi.org/10.1161/CIRCIMAGING.122.013977
[v]
U.S. Food and Drug Administration. MQSA National Statistics. https://www.fda.gov/radiation-emitting-products/mqsa-insights/mqsa-national-statistics