Lantern Pharma partners with NCI to aid precision oncology research, treatments

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Kearny-based Lantern Pharma, a clinical stage oncology biotech leveraging AI and genomics, announced a collaboration agreement with the Developmental Therapeutics Branch (DTB) of the National Cancer Institute (NCI) to identify gene signatures that help predict a potential response of a patient’s tumor to a drug therapy.

Lantern said it would work with the DTB Genomics and Pharmacology Facility at NCI to apply its CellMiner and CellMinerCDB platforms, regression models and algorithms to independently categorize gene predictors of response or sensitivity to Lantern’s pipeline drug candidates by tumor type.

Lantern Chief Executive Officer Panna Sharma told NJBIZ that Lantern Pharma has forged a collaboration with the Developmental Therapeutics Branch of the National Cancer Institute (NCI) to apply multiple machine learning tools capable of revealing genomic signatures predictive of a patient’s tumor response to specific drug candidates.

“This partnership showcases tremendous opportunities for the use of leading-edge data sciences and AI technology in advancing oncology precision medicine. Collaborations are critical in helping to solve and eradicate cancer, and Lantern will continue partnering with leading organizations to leverage big data from drug screening and sequencing efforts, and translating them into effective targeted therapies for cancer,” said Sharma.

He said that results of the partnership with NCI would help pinpoint sets of significant genomic features correlated with the mechanism of action, efficacy profile and optimal cancer indication for Lantern’s pipeline of drugs.

Lantern and NCI plan to work together on the publication of research results generated by the collaboration.

This partnership showcases tremendous opportunities for the use of leading-edge data sciences and AI technology in advancing oncology precision medicine. Collaborations are critical in helping to solve and eradicate cancer …
– Panna Sharma, CEO, Lantern Pharma

This comprehensive approach highlights Lantern Pharma’s dedication to paving a path for the use of AI in precision oncology and how the partnership will help foster the next wave of effective cancer therapies.

“Lantern believes that the convergence of artificial intelligence, machine learning and genomic data mark the next frontier for a highly productive period in drug development, especially in cancer therapeutics,” said Sharma. “We are very appreciative of this collaboration with NCI’s Developmental Therapeutics Branch, one we believe is a clear reflection of the vast potential for cancer therapeutics developed using precision oncology, ultimately benefiting medical practitioners, the investor community, and most importantly –patients and their families,” he added.