The drug developer will own all shares of the oncology data firm.

Roche has announced it will acquire all shares of Flatiron Health. Flatiron Health is a privately held healthcare technology that has built its business on oncology-specific electronic health record (EHR) software. The company also specializes in the curation and development of real-world evidence and data specifically for cancer research. Headquartered in New York City, the company’s network extends to oncology centers and practices, and academic medical outposts throughout the nation. Flatiron Health’s technology platform is designed to learn from the experience of every patient. This is very much in line with Roche’s approach to oncology and falls within the framework of personalized medicine and leveraging Big Data for treatment.

“This is an important step in our personalized healthcare strategy for Roche, as we believe that regulatory-grade real-world evidence is a key ingredient to accelerate the development of, and access to, new cancer treatments,” commented Daniel O’Day, CEO Roche Pharmaceuticals.

“As a leading technology company in oncology, Flatiron Health is best positioned to provide the technology and data analytics infrastructure needed not only for Roche, but for oncology research and development efforts across the entire industry. A key principle of this is to preserve Flatiron’s autonomy and their ability to continue providing their services to all existing and future partners,” he explained.

Nat Turner, Flatiron Health Co-Founder and CEO added to this, commenting on the company’s goals and positioning. “Roche has been a tremendous partner to us over the past two years and shares our vision for building a learning healthcare platform in oncology ultimately designed to improve the lives of cancer patients. This important milestone will allow us to increase our investments in our provider-facing technology and services platform, as well as our evidence-generation platform, which will remain available to the entire healthcare industry." 

Following the $1.9 billion acquisition, Flatiron Health is expected to continue all operations, including its current business model, network of partnerships and overall objectives. Flatiron Health aims for data to be implemented at the point of care, with real world information leading to better outcomes. It will be interesting to see how this acquisition effects Roche’s pipeline and firm going forward, as well as how this partnership fits into the otherwise larger trend taking place in the industry, and may influence other organizations towards tangible Big Data options.