Roche Canada launches national AI Centre of Excellence

Hoffmann-La Roche Ltd. (Roche Canada), Mississauga ON, launched the Roche AI Centre of Excellence (CoE), the first such collaborative centre to combine the expertise of all three national AI institutes under the CIFAR Pan-Canadian AI Strategy – Amii, Mila and the Vector Institute.  

The CoE focuses on advancing digital transformation in health, marrying Roche’s longstanding history of leadership in health and life sciences, and the three institutes’ established track record of excellence in AI research and enabling industry application. The CoE will work to deliver quality AI based digital solutions that optimize and reduce the cost of healthcare delivery, improve health outcomes, and enable Canada to learn and nimbly respond to opportunities and potential challenges in the healthcare system.

In 2017, Canada became the first country to launch a national AI strategy, building on its history of AI research excellence and with the goal of establishing Canada as a world-leading destination for talent and companies looking to advance their AI capabilities. Since the creation of the Pan-Canadian AI Strategy, Canada has solidified its place as a global leader in AI.

“Roche’s establishment of a new AI Centre of Excellence in Canada is a great testament to the power of collaboration. This partnership is a first of its kind, leveraging the investments made through the Pan-Canadian AI Strategy in our three national AI Institutes to deliver a collaboration that will be greater than the sum of its parts and will help advance AI for health research and innovation for Canada,” says Elissa Strome, executive director, Pan-Canadian AI Strategy, CIFAR.

The Roche AI CoE has its origins in the Roche Data Science Coalition (RDSC), which formed in April 2020 as a multi-industry coalition lending expertise and resources to tackle challenges presented by COVID-19. Since its formation, the RDSC has contributed to over 100 digital solutions and insights including AI models, advanced analytics, virtual dashboards, market reports, and also deepened relationships with Canadian and international stakeholders.