Echo IQ Limited (ASX: EIQ) has executed a binding, definitive exclusive data licensing agreement with Advara HeartCare, Australia’s largest private cardiovascular diagnostics provider, securing exclusive access to one of the country’s largest cardiovascular imaging datasets.
Announced on 2 July 2026, the agreement provides Echo IQ with exclusive access to between 500,000 and 1,000,000 de-identified echocardiography studies and associated clinical datasets sourced through Advara’s national network.
The arrangement delivers a proprietary, difficult-to-replicate data asset expected to materially enhance future EchoSolv product development, alongside training and validation of next-generation cardiovascular AI products.
What the Advara agreement delivers
Under the terms, Echo IQ will receive de-identified echocardiographic images together with linked clinical information, including de-identified patient demographics where applicable, referral pathways, diagnostic findings and relevant clinical outcomes. Advara currently supports more than 750,000 patient interactions annually across its national network of cardiologists, specialist clinics and diagnostic services.
The definitive agreement contains binding exclusivity provisions, comprehensive data quality and de-identification standards, and intellectual property protections ensuring Echo IQ retains ownership of all AI outputs. Delivery of the licensed data is not immediate. It remains subject to Human Research Ethics Committee (HREC) approval and agreement on data quality specifications.
Key terms of the exclusive data licensing agreement include:
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Access to between 500,000 and 1,000,000 de-identified echocardiography studies
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Advara warranted a minimum of 500,000 de-identified echocardiograms
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No less than 70% of the licensed data to meet agreed quality specifications
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An initial three-year term, extendable by a further three years
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Delivery conditional on HREC ethics approval and agreement on data quality specifications
The following table summarises the core features and their potential significance for investors.
| Feature | Detail | Investment significance |
|---|---|---|
| Dataset size | 500,000–1,000,000 de-identified studies | Substantial imaging resource for AI training and validation |
| Exclusivity | Binding exclusivity provisions | Restricts rival access to a difficult-to-replicate asset |
| IP ownership | Echo IQ retains ownership of all AI outputs | Protects value created from the dataset |
| Term length | Initial three years, plus three-year option | Provides medium-term development runway |
| NEDA fit | Complementary imaging data | Broadens the company’s cardiovascular data ecosystem |
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Why cardiovascular AI data is the real prize
Large, high-quality imaging datasets sit at the centre of modern AI development. Models require both volume and diversity of real-world data to train effectively, refine their accuracy and validate performance across different patient populations. Without sufficient data, algorithms struggle to generalise beyond narrow conditions.
Echo IQ describes a broader shift underway in the sector. Cardiovascular AI is evolving from single-disease applications towards broader multi-condition diagnostic and predictive platforms, which demand deeper and more varied datasets to support development across multiple indications.
The cardio-oncology research collaboration with Mayo Clinic Arizona, announced in June 2026, illustrates the multi-condition diagnostic ambitions that make a large, diverse real-world imaging dataset like Advara’s so strategically important for the company’s product pipeline.
For investors, the significance lies in the nature of the asset itself. Proprietary data is widely regarded as a competitive moat, difficult for rivals to replicate, which may strengthen Echo IQ’s positioning as a developer of AI-enabled cardiovascular diagnostics.
How Advara complements the existing NEDA relationship
The Advara dataset is highly complementary to Echo IQ’s existing relationship with the National Echo Database Australia (NEDA), with the two assets playing distinct roles rather than duplicating one another.
NEDA provides one of the world’s largest longitudinal cardiovascular outcomes datasets and remains central to Echo IQ’s clinical validation, evidence generation and regulatory strategy. The Advara dataset, by contrast, delivers extensive real-world imaging data ideally suited to AI development and model training.
Together, these assets are expected to span product discovery, algorithm development, clinical validation, regulatory evidence generation and commercial deployment, forming what the company describes as one of Australia’s most powerful cardiovascular AI data ecosystems.
Dustin Haines, Chief Executive Officer, Echo IQ
“Securing access to a dataset of this scale is strategically important for Echo IQ and represents a significant enhancement to our long-term AI development capabilities. While NEDA continues to provide a world-class platform for clinical validation and outcomes research, the Advara dataset brings something different and highly complementary, which centres around large-scale real-world imaging data that can be used to train, refine and develop future generations of cardiovascular AI products. This significantly strengthens our opportunities to expand the EchoSolv platform.”
The investment case: a proprietary data moat
The combination of exclusive access, retained IP ownership and the complementary NEDA relationship is positioned to build a differentiated cardiovascular AI ecosystem that is hard for competitors to replicate.
Echo IQ believes the pairing of large-scale imaging datasets with longitudinal clinical outcomes data represents a significant competitive advantage. Management has framed the combination as reinforcing the company’s position and supporting the expansion of its future product pipeline, while enhancing the performance and clinical utility of existing and future technologies.
The Pro Medicus strategic investment of up to A$20 million, announced in June 2026, adds a second dimension to this data-driven moat, pairing the Advara imaging asset with a proposed US reseller arrangement through Pro Medicus’ established Visage platform network.
Dr David O’Donnell, Chief Executive Officer, Advara HeartCare
“At Advara HeartCare, our purpose is to improve Australia’s heart health through clinical excellence complemented by research and innovation. As Australia’s largest cardiology network, Advara HeartCare generates substantial real-world cardiovascular clinical and imaging data which, when appropriately governed and de-identified, can support the responsible development and validation of technologies designed to improve patient care. We are pleased to collaborate with Echo IQ in supporting the development of next-generation AI-enabled cardiovascular imaging applications. At Advara we are focused on continuing to provide world leading care to our patients and we see that AI has the potential to complement the role of the clinician in providing this best quality care to our patients.”
What happens next
Delivery of the licensed data is not yet finalised and hinges on two conditions precedent. Advara must obtain HREC ethics approval, and both parties must agree on data quality specifications before extraction proceeds.
The agreement includes a protective clause for Echo IQ. If HREC approval is not obtained within the required timeframe or the parties fail to agree on data quality specifications within 60 days of commencement, Echo IQ may terminate the agreement and recover all licence fees paid, providing a measure of downside protection for the company.
Key milestones for investors to watch include:
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HREC ethics approval
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Agreement on data quality specifications
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Commencement of data extraction, matching and de-identification
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Integration into the EchoSolv development pipeline
There can be no assurance that ethics approval will be obtained, or that data quality specifications will be agreed, within the anticipated timeframes. The final dataset size also remains subject to extraction, matching, de-identification and quality review processes.
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