Varian to Acquire Software Platform for Data-Driven Clinical Decision Making in Cancer Centers

Varian Medical Systems, Inc., (Palo Alto, CA, USA) has signed an agreement with Velocity Medical Solutions, LLC (Atlanta, GA, USA) to acquire specific assets of Velocity, a privately-held developer of specialized software for cancer clinics.

The acquisition includes software designed to access and aggregate unstructured treatment and imaging data from diverse systems to show a wide-ranging view of a patient’s diagnostic imaging and treatment history, regardless of where they were treated or what technology was used. By organizing patient data and making it available in one place, the Velocity software can help clinicians make more informed treatment decisions.

The Velocity organization was established by leading clinicians who have developed novel tools that convert unstructured data into useful clinical knowledge. The Velocity software enables clinicians to easily gather, integrate, and share data from computed tomography (CT), positron emission tomography (PET), and magnetic resonance (MR) images and varied treatment systems for close collaboration with referring oncologists, physicians, medical physicists, and others on the care team.

The Velocity software is already in use at over 200 cancer treatment centers worldwide. Varian anticipates its global sales, service, and support network will contribute to faster and deeper market penetration for the Velocity product.

“This acquisition supports our commitment to providing clinicians with tools for data-driven clinical decision making,” said Kolleen Kennedy, president of Varian’s oncology systems business. “We believe that the Velocity software has the potential to play an important role at the over 4,400 cancer centers currently utilizing Varian technology. The software enables healthcare professionals to use oncology patient images and data to plan and assess treatments, collaborate with colleagues, and share clinical knowledge—all important capabilities in an era of evidence-based medicine.”

The Velocity solution is in line with Varian’s overall goal of helping clinicians manage the cancer treatment journey, from initial diagnosis to survivorship, and including retreatment for the some 30% of patients who will experience metastases at some time.

“Varian strives to provide oncologists with curative tools for their patients. When a cure is not possible, our vision is to turn cancer into a manageable disease like diabetes,” said Kennedy. “With approaches like image-guided radiosurgery, a patient might be successfully treated multiple times for their primary cancer and then for metastatic lesions that can occur, sometimes months or even years later. We envision clinicians using this software to fully understand a patient’s clinical history in order to make informed decisions about the path forward.”

“We are excited about the possibilities that this acquisition by Varian creates,” said Tim Fox, PhD, director of medical physics for the department of radiation oncology at Emory University (Atlanta, GA, USA) and one of the founders of Velocity Medical Solutions. “We expect that Varian will support the continued development of this important clinical tool and help to make it more widely available. We share a common vision to empower oncology care teams to make more confident decisions.”

Varian plans to continue development of this oncology software platform with the Velocity team in Atlanta, Georgia. Financial terms of the asset acquisition are not being disclosed. The acquisition is expected to be complete during Varian’s third fiscal quarter, subject to customary closing conditions.

Varian Medical Systems is a developer of medical devices and software for treating cancer and other medical conditions with radiotherapy, radiosurgery, and brachytherapy. The company supplies informatics software for managing comprehensive cancer clinics, radiotherapy centers, and medical oncology practices. Varian is a supplier of tubes and digital detectors for X-ray imaging in medical, scientific, and industrial applications and also supplies X-ray imaging products for cargo screening and industrial inspection.

Related Links:
Varian Medical Systems
Velocity Medical Solutions