TANGO, a pathology tool developed at Leeds Teaching Hospitals, will be built into products sold worldwide by Epredia, bringing investment and specialist jobs back to the city
Leeds Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust has signed a commercial agreement with Epredia, the world’s largest diagnostic glass slide manufacturer, to incorporate its pathology tool, TANGO, to laboratories around the world. The Trust says the deal will bring investment and specialist jobs to Leeds while channelling investment back into the NHS. It is a notable example of frontline NHS innovation becoming a commercial product with international reach.
Why This Matters For Leeds
This is exactly the kind of win Leeds’ health-tech ambitions are built on: a lab breakthrough that turns into a product, investment and skilled jobs in the city. A deal with a global manufacturer is a genuine proof point for the ecosystem the region has been promoting, strengthening a credible claim to be one of Europe’s leading centres for health innovation.
What the Leeds Cancer Diagnostics Deal Involves
TANGO was developed at the National Pathology Imaging Co-operative, based at Leeds Teaching Hospitals. It tackles a problem that limits the use of AI in pathology: small variations in the way tissue samples are stained can affect how results are read. TANGO uses a specially designed reference slide as a quality-control measure, helping laboratories produce more consistent results and making AI-assisted diagnosis more reliable. Under the agreement, Epredia will develop new pathology slide products incorporating the technology and use its global distribution to sell them, with integration into new laboratory slides planned from late 2026. The company’s existing portfolio includes digital pathology scanners and laboratory printers, into which TANGO now slots. The tool was created by Trust clinicians and researchers Professor David Brettle, Professor Darren Treanor and Dr Catriona Dunn.
“This shows how ideas developed on the frontline in the NHS can grow into innovations with global impact.”
— Professor David Brettle, Chief Scientific Officer, Leeds Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust
A Boost for Leeds Health Innovation
The commercial terms have not been disclosed, but the Trust frames the agreement as delivering economic as well as clinical value. Its chair, Antony Kildare, said the deal offers a strong return and brings economic benefits by creating health-tech jobs in Leeds and driving investment back to the NHS to fund future research. The Trust says the roles created would support product development, validation and commercialisation. It lands in a region actively marketing its health credentials: West Yorkshire mayor Tracy Brabin pointed to a network of more than 300 firms and a £160m investment zone, figures at the heart of the area’s healthtech cluster plan. As a case of Leeds cancer diagnostics research reaching the global stage through an NHS-industry partnership, it is a strong advert for the city’s ambitions.
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- Learn more about Leeds Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust: https://www.leedsth.nhs.uk
