IQ-AI Ltd (LSE:IQAI, OTCQB:IQAIF) earlier this week announced an expanded partnership between its subsidiary, Imaging Biometrics, and GE Healthcare. The agreement will streamline the distribution of IB Neuro and IB Delta T1 platforms, which assist in assessing and treating brain tumours.
The tools, according to the company, address key challenges like differentiating between true progression and pseudo-progression in MRIs.
Chief executive Michael Schmainda highlighted that the agreement introduces a per-scanner pricing model, expected to ease sales efforts and boost adoption. He called the partnership a potential "step change" for the company heading into 2025.
Proactive: Mike, you've announced that you've extended your partnership with GE Healthcare to broaden access to your imaging technology. Take us through the renewed agreement.
Michael Schmainda: The GE agreement is obviously significant. Anytime you have an agreement with a major global player in healthcare, it's very exciting. It's significant in itself because this is a unique agreement in that they've taken us through an onboarding process.
They’ve integrated our products into their internal sourcing databases and product catalogues with unique GE part numbers. So everything has been internalized. It should result in a very streamlined selling process and faster sales cycles.
Proactive: They're going to be distributing your IB Neuro and IB Delta T1 platforms. Tell us more about those platforms and the potential for them.
Schmainda: Those two platforms are our quantitative technologies used to assess brain tumours and brain tumour response. They complement each other very well. The Delta T1 Maps really take a lot of the subjectivity out of what’s commonly done today and make it very easy for radiologists to identify the true regions of contrast enhancement for brain tumours- the problem areas.
Within that, we use IB Neuro to then stratify blood volume levels, which have been shown to correlate very well with brain tumour grades and pseudo-progression. So, those two are a one-two punch.
They’re really bread-and-butter tools that every neuroradiologist should use for the treatment of brain tumours, high-grade gliomas, as well as brain metastases.
Proactive: Are the potential markets out there for these tools?
Schmainda: Absolutely. GE is a major player. They're installed all over. What’s unique about this relationship is the pricing model. Typically, our model is based on the number of MRI scans or exams done by a site. But this agreement is based on a per-scanner basis.
GE convinced us that this would make it easier for their salespeople to offer to their existing clients. So, we agreed and are eager to see how this plays out.
There are a lot of GE scanners in the United States, so there's an immediate market. This translation should be fast, and hopefully, it's going to be a step change in where we are in 2024 going into 2025.
Proactive: Mike, other exciting news this week: you announced that Dr. Musella has been appointed to the IQ-AI board. How do you see his appointment strengthening the company’s board?
Schmainda: It’s going to be a tremendous lift for us. Aside from the work that he and his foundation have done for the brain tumour community, which has been remarkable, he took an interest in our imaging platform years ago and immediately understood how it can help doctors make better decisions for their patients.
More recently, he’s taken a strong interest in our Phase 1 clinical trial for oral gallium maltolate and our expanded access program. He’s joining us at a very exciting and important time. He brings a fresh perspective and lots of experience from clinical trials, FDA regulations, expanded access programs, and advocating for new agent approvals. I’ve learned that he’s a man of action who gets things done, and that’s exactly what we need right now.
Proactive: Al, I think we need to bring you in here. As the 'man of action', could you share your background and a bit more about the foundation itself?
Al Musella: I used to be a podiatrist in private practice until two relatives were diagnosed with glioblastoma. I became very interested in brain tumours in 1992- that’s 32 years ago. I formed the foundation, retired from my podiatry practice, and have been doing this full-time.
We see lots of patients and have a navigation program. I must have navigated tens of thousands of patients through this process. Two big problems stand out. The first is that when you look at an MRI scan, you don’t know the difference between true progression or pseudo-progression, or what percentage of what looks like a tumour is actually a tumour.
In particular, there’s one treatment where patients have stopped using it because the first scan looks bad. Using Delta T1 Mapping, you can see it’s actually treatment effects that have grown, while the tumour itself is shrinking.
Imaging Biometrics ran a small pilot project on this, and we’re starting a new one now. This technology is going to make a major impact on patients’ lives.
There’s no other easy way to tell the difference between pseudo-progression and true progression without a biopsy, which is impractical to do every few months. Imaging Biometrics’ technology is widely available, relatively inexpensive, and simple to use.
Proactive: What excites you about joining IQ-AI’s board, Al?
Musella: It’s the opportunity to help grow this technology so it becomes the standard of care for every brain MRI. This profession is very slow to adopt new technologies, even when the benefits are huge, and there’s no downside.
I’ve shared some ideas to get this technology in front of neuro-oncologists and neurosurgeons. Once they see it, they’ll love it. I said, “This is amazing. Everybody should have this”, and I believe they will. You can use standard MRI sequences with no extra steps—it’s all behind the scenes. It’s perfect.