Roche Canada presented the National Centre of Excellence in Artificial Intelligence (CoE). It is the first collaborative organization of this nature to combine the expertise of the three national institutes that are part of CIFAR’s Pan-Canadian Artificial Intelligence (AI) Strategy: Amii, Mila and the Vector Institute.
The CoE’s mission will be to promote digital transformation in the health sector by combining Roche’s long tradition of leadership in health and life sciences with the three institutes’ track record of excellence in AI research and the use of sector-specific applications. The CoE will work to create quality digital solutions based on RN to optimize health care delivery, reduce costs and improve health outcomes, and enable Canada to learn while being agile to seize opportunities and address potential challenges within the health system.
Roche Canada executives Ronnie Miller, Roche Pharmaceuticals Canada; Andrew Plank, Roche Diagnostics Canada; Jade Dagher, Roche Diabetes Care Canada said :
“Bringing together pharmaceutical and diagnostic expertise, Roche is uniquely positioned to innovate to deliver significant value to the healthcare system and patients. We believe that strong collaborations such as the one that will characterize the Roche RN Centre of Excellence are essential to shaping the future of healthcare. As such, we are proud to work in partnership with Canada’s pan-Canadian RN Institutes to develop solutions that have a significant and lasting impact and that foster Canada’s leadership in artificial intelligence on a global scale”.
In 2017, Canada was the first country to adopt a national AI strategy, building on its tradition of research excellence in this field. At that time, Canada sought to become a leading magnet for talent and companies from around the world to enhance their AI capabilities. Since the creation of the Pan-Canadian Strategy for Artificial Intelligence, Canada has consolidated its position as a world leader in this field.
Navdeep Bains, Minister of Innovation, Science and Industry welcomed the creation of this centre of excellence in Canada :
“Spreading across many areas of innovation, artificial intelligence has the potential to transform the way we work, play and live. I would like to congratulate Roche on this important initiative. Collaborations such as the new Centre of Excellence for AI in Health highlight the importance of the Government’s $125 million investment in the Pan-Canadian Artificial Intelligence Strategy. These efforts enable Canada to remain a world leader in AI innovation while attracting and retaining the best talent and improving the health and wellness of Canadians”.
Elissa Strome, Executive Director of the Pan-Canadian Artificial Intelligence Strategy, CIFAR, said:
“The establishment of the new Roche RIA Centre of Excellence is a testament to the power of collaboration. This first-of-its-kind partnership leverages the investments made in our three national AI institutes under the Pan-Canadian Artificial Intelligence Strategy to create a collaboration that is greater than the sum of its parts and to contribute to the advancement of AI in health research and innovation in Canada”.
The new AI CoE has its origins in the Roche Data Science Coalition, a cross-industry group created in April 2020 to bring together expertise and resources to address the challenges posed by COVID-19. Since its inception, the Coalition has contributed to more than 100 digital solutions, including artificial intelligence and advanced analytics models, virtual dashboards and market reports, as well as strengthening its links with Canadian and international stakeholders.
Building on this proven model of rapid innovation, the CoE is leveraging the framework for the Data Science Coalition to foster cross-sectoral collaboration that will drive digital transformation across the Canadian health care system and solidify the country’s position at the forefront of innovation in health and life sciences.
As the demand for healthcare grows and becomes increasingly complex, Roche recognizes the important role that AI plays in creating transformative solutions, while recognizing that only meaningful partnerships and co-creation can generate significantly more value in the health ecosystem. The CoE aims to leverage collaboration and specialized expertise to achieve certain goals – for example, improving timely access to appropriate diagnostics and treatments, providing information and mitigating risk in health care decision-making, increasing the number of AI start-ups and helping them grow, cultivating AI talent and bringing science closer to citizens.
Richard S. Sutton, Chief Science Advisor, Amii explained:
“Artificial intelligence has tremendous potential to transform the way we think about health care delivery in Canada. The partnership between Roche and CIFAR’s Pan-Canadian RIA Strategy Institutes will allow Amii and its pan-Canadian partners to combine their knowledge of machine learning with Roche’s leading health expertise to strengthen the country’s leadership at the crossroads of RIA and life sciences. Alberta has a vast pool of RN talent, and Amii is pleased to collaborate with Roche, Mila and the Vector Institute in support of the digital transformation of the Canadian healthcare system”.
Yoshua Bengio, Scientific Director, Mila said of the creation of this centre:
“This is an exciting time for RN and health care. The recent efforts of Mila, Amii and the Vector Institute in relation to the COVID-19 pandemic have confirmed the collective commitment within our scientific community to collaborate and share information to advance AI and achieve tangible benefits for society. Our partnership with Roche and two other pan-Canadian research institutes strengthens Canada’s interdisciplinary culture. At Mila, we are proud to contribute to the work of the Centre of Excellence”.
Geoffrey Hinton, Chief Scientific Advisor, Vector Institute; Vice President and Engineering Fellow, Google; Professor Emeritus, University of Toronto said:
“Whether it’s designing new pharmaceuticals, improving health systems or personalizing medicine, I am particularly excited about realizing the transformative potential of deep learning in health care. It is encouraging and exciting that Roche is partnering with Amii, Mila and the Vector Institute to further highlight Canada’s status as a strategic destination for AI research and technology adoption. As a sector sponsor of the Vector Institute, Roche is supporting specific programs and talent that will enable the Institute to advance and accelerate AI research and applications.
In the coming months, the Roche RN CoE will prioritize key projects identified by health system stakeholders in areas such as data analysis, biomarker discovery, drug development and the cultivation of RN talent in the Canadian health and life sciences sectors. The teams will also launch a series of events to engage patients and other members of the public in conversations about data access and digital transformation in health and life sciences.
Translated from Roche établit un partenariat avec l’Amii, Mila et l’Institut Vecteur pour stimuler la transformation numérique dans le secteur de la santé
