Ryan Black

The healthcare analytics firm Cota announced today that it has entered into a multiyear partnership with Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center (MSK). The deal gives Cota access to millions of clinical and genomic records, allowing the company to generate real-world evidence with the goal of improving outcomes and value.In a statement announcing the move, Cota CEO John Hervey described MSK as “one of the world’s most recognized and trusted cancer centers,” praising the value of the data it had accrued from years of cancer care and research.“With the genomic revolution and rapid advancements in cancer treatments, it’s increasingly important for providers to have a trusted data partner, and that is why Memorial Sloan Kettering chose Cota,” Hervey said. “Together, we will advance how the industry leverages data analytics to improve patient care.”The partnership will utilize the Cota Nodal Address (CNA) system, a digital classification tool that the company likens to a retail barcode. CNA is a “digital compression of the biologic narrative” that allows for precise characterization of diseases within electronic medical records, enabling analytics applications.Cota President and Chief Operating Officer Scott Paddock said Cota can "enable the delivery of precision medicine at scale by building real-world evidence that is digitally organized." He added that the system, "offers the tools for providers and payers to deliver value-based care, providing the data to avoid adverse variance, thus optimizing clinical outcomes for each patient and reducing the total cost of care for the population served.""This organized and analyzed data will help our physicians practice more efficiently, optimizing the care a patient receives based on a variety of characteristics and ultimately can improve outcomes for all cancer patients as this knowledge is shared." MSK deputy physician-in-chief for clinical research Paul Sabbatini, MD, said in the statementToday’s announcement adds to Cota’s growing list of key collaborations. In March, it inked a deal with pharma giant Novartis to share analytics techniques in a multiyear study of breast cancer treatments. In June, the company unveiled a 3-way partnership with IBM Watson Health and Hackensack Meridian Health to develop value-based treatment courses for cancer patients. Watson’s deputy chief health officer, Andrew Norden, MD, later left his post to become Cota’s new chief medical officer.