AstraZeneca, Roche join forces to boost AI-based cancer pathology across Asia
May 20, 2026 | Wednesday | News
Collaboration addresses the critical knowledge and adoption gap in AI-assisted pathology across Asia
AstraZeneca and Roche Diagnostics Asia Pacific have announced a three-year Memorandum of Understanding to help advance digital pathology capabilities and elevate cancer care across nine Asia markets, a first in the region. This landmark collaboration aims to accelerate the adoption of AI-powered digital and computational pathology through educational and training initiatives and improve biomarker testing in breast and lung cancer.
Globally, nearly half of all breast cancer cases and over 60% of new lung cancer diagnoses occur in Asia. In breast cancer, almost half of Asian women present lower levels of HER2, while TROP2 is present in 82–90% of non-small cell lung cancer. Precise biomarker testing is hence key to guiding treatment decisions, and AI-enabled TROP2 assessment helps identify patients who are more likely to respond to antibody drug conjugate therapies.
This collaboration addresses the critical knowledge and adoption gap in AI-assisted pathology across Asia. Only 17% of clinicians consider themselves very aware of advanced pathology technologies, and usage of computational pathology-based tests in clinical settings is low. For example, in the Philippines, 60% of medical oncologists report that unavailability of biomarker testing has hindered their practice.
Across Singapore, Taiwan, Korea, Thailand, Malaysia, India, Indonesia, Vietnam, and the Philippines, the collaboration will activate educational and training initiatives that address local healthcare system needs and accelerate the integration of AI-assisted computational pathology into diagnostic workflows.