Support The Moscow Times!

Russia's Yandex Launches Platform for Cancer Diagnostics

The testing of the platform will begin in December. Maxim Stulov / Vedomosti

Russia's Internet giant Yandex together with a British-Swedish drug company AstraZeneca and the Russian Society of Clinical Oncology will launch a platform for cancer diagnostics through DNA testing, the Kommersant newspaper reported Tuesday.

The platform, called RAY, is designed to improve the methods of cancer diagnostics and detect a person's predisposition to cancer, Kommersant reported, citing an unidentified Yandex representative and AstraZeneca spokeswoman Marina Rozhdestvina.

The cancer diagnostics platform is the first experience in the field of medicine by Yandex Data Factory, Yandex's division providing big data-processing services.

The program analyzes the uploaded results of DNA testing, generates a report about the found mutations in the genome of the patients, and provides information on its possible effects and recommendations on treatment.

The testing of the platform will begin in December. If testing is successful, RAY will become a paid service. However, some of its elements, such as the mutation database of Russian patients, will probably be available to the medical community for free, Yandex's representative told the paper.

… we have a small favor to ask.

As you may have heard, The Moscow Times, an independent news source for over 30 years, has been unjustly branded as a "foreign agent" by the Russian government. This blatant attempt to silence our voice is a direct assault on the integrity of journalism and the values we hold dear.

We, the journalists of The Moscow Times, refuse to be silenced. Our commitment to providing accurate and unbiased reporting on Russia remains unshaken. But we need your help to continue our critical mission.

Your support, no matter how small, makes a world of difference. If you can, please support us monthly starting from just 2. It's quick to set up, and you can be confident that you're making a significant impact every month by supporting open, independent journalism. Thank you.

Continue

Read more