Better cancer prognostics using AI: Norselab invests in health tech company DoMore together with serial entrepreneur Øyvind Grotmol

Norwegian health tech company DoMore is aiming internationally with their world-class cancer prognostics, raising NOK 15 million for commercialization from investment fund Norselab and entrepreneurial ace Øyvind Grotmol.

Estimates the course of the disease within 3 minutes

Faulty assessments of cancerous tumors cost both lives and tax money. As of today, the margin of error is up to 40% when estimating severity of cancer. For patients, it can mean a fatal outcome, or a severe reduction in the quality of life as a result of aggressive forms of treatment. For society, the additional cost for each misdiagnosed patient is NOK 135.000 (Norwegian figures).

Over the past five years, researchers at Oslo University Hospital (OUS) have been researching how artificial intelligence can diagnose cancerous tumors and predict the course of the disease. With Håvard Danielsen, head of the Department of Cancer Genetics and Informatics at OUS, at the helm and grants from the Research Council of Norway, they have developed a method providing correct prognostics within 3 minutes in 88% of cases.

To achieve this, the team has trained a machine learning algorithm of 17 million images of cancerous tumors from 4,500 patients. Advanced mathematical and bioinformatics methods, including deep neural networks, have been used in developing the method. The results have been published in the prestigious medical journal The Lancet.

15 million for international expansion

The convincing results led to the establishment of DoMore Diagnostics, which will now bring the solution to healthcare services globally. With an out-of-the-box product for prognostics of colorectal cancer, DoMore has brought onboard venture fund Norselab and successful tech entrepreneur Øyvind Grotmol, investing a total of NOK 15 million. Both have extensive experience with scaling technology companies in established industries.

- The solution developed by DoMore is sensational, even in an international context. More accurate forecasts for cancer patients can extend the life of millions of people and save society considerable costs. This is deeply meaningful technology that fits very well with our mandate. We look forward to helping DoMore with growth and scaling, says Norselab Partner Ivar Kroghrud.

Applicable to several forms of cancer

Serial entrepreneur and investor Øyvind Grotmol also has a seat at the board of the company. He describes DoMore as Norway’s perhaps most interesting AI company in health technology. With entrepreneurial experience from Exabel, Medallia, Energy Micro and Brain Corp, Grotmol has a solid overview of what it takes to succeed with the company’s planned expansion.

- DoMore’s technology is the world’s best at precise prognostics for colorectal cancer. While expanding into global markets, there is a great possibility for developing the same method for other widespread cancer forms, such as lung cancer and prostate cancer, says Grotmol.

Global ambitions

Tomas Nordheim Alme is the newly appointed chairman of the board at DoMore. He is a trained pediatrician, and brings with him valuable experience from international health and e-health projects both in Norway and abroad. Among other things, he was Medical Director of DIPS for a number of years. Now he will lead the commercialization of DoMore’s solution from a board level.

- Our pilot projects show that there is a strong demand for this type of solution. DoMore has been given exclusive rights to commercialize the method, and with the right investors onboard, we are equipped for rapid expansion, he says.

The most important task the company must complete in the short term is to recruit an A-team that will help build the company.

He believes faster and more precise forecasts will make a big difference for both patients and society, and that these are factors that will help attract the best minds.

- We are in an early stage of digitization of pathology, but if we succeed, the situation will be completely different a few years from now. Our goal is to offer DoMore’s services to hospitals all over the world, Nordheim Alme concludes.