Understanding Lantern Pharma
Lantern Pharma is a biotechnology company focused on transforming oncology drug discovery and development through the use of artificial intelligence (AI). The company aims to accelerate the process of bringing new cancer therapies to patients by integrating advanced computational methods with traditional drug development, allowing for more efficient identification and development of targeted treatments.
Lantern Pharma was established in 2009 in Dallas, Texas, to address the high costs, long timelines, and low success rates prevalent in traditional cancer drug development. They leverage their proprietary AI platform, RADR®, and a data-driven strategy.
The RADR Platform
Lantern Pharma’s approach centers on its proprietary AI platform, RADR® (Response Algorithm for Drug Positioning & Rescue). This platform integrates data analytics, experimental biology, and machine learning to enhance the precision and speed of developing targeted cancer treatments. RADR® processes vast amounts of oncology-specific data, including genomic, drug sensitivity, and clinical study information, to gain insights into how drugs interact with tumors.
The RADR® platform operates through six automated modules that sequentially derive drug and tumor-specific biomarker panels. These modules involve:
Data ingestion
Processing
Feature selection
Prediction
Hypothesis generation
Validation
Patient stratification
Clinical trial design
By analyzing over 200 billion oncology-focused data points and utilizing more than 200 advanced machine learning algorithms, RADR® predicts patient responses to various cancer drugs and identifies potential combination strategies. This capability aims to identify compounds with a higher likelihood of success in clinical trials, reducing development time and financial investments.
Advancing Drug Candidates
The RADR® platform informs Lantern Pharma’s drug development pipeline, which includes multiple drug candidates targeting various cancers. LP-184 is a drug candidate in a Phase 1 clinical trial for solid tumors, including those with DNA damage repair deficiencies. The FDA cleared a Phase 1b/2 clinical trial for LP-184 in triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC), evaluating it as both a monotherapy and in combination with olaparib. Preclinical studies for LP-184 have shown potency, particularly in combination with the PARP inhibitor olaparib, even in tumors resistant to PARP inhibitors.
Another candidate, LP-284, has advanced to a Phase 1 study for lymphomas and sarcomas. LP-284 is a synthetic molecule that damages DNA in cancer cells, and preclinical data has shown its effectiveness in treating non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma subtypes like mantle cell lymphoma (MCL). A patient with aggressive diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (DLBCL) who had failed multiple prior treatments achieved a complete metabolic response in an ongoing Phase 1 clinical trial of LP-284 after just two cycles. Additionally, LP-300 is in a Phase 2 HARMONIC™ clinical trial for non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) in never-smokers. Early U.S. results indicated an 86% clinical benefit rate, with one patient achieving a durable complete response.
Revolutionizing Drug Discovery
Lantern Pharma’s AI-driven methodology aims to reduce the time, cost, and failure rates associated with drug development. By leveraging AI, the company projects a drug could progress from concept to Phase 3 trials for an estimated $100–200 million, a substantial reduction compared to the traditional cost of $2 billion or more. The company’s lean development model aims to advance programs from early discovery to clinical trials in approximately 2–3 years, faster than industry norms.
The RADR® platform’s ability to identify patient-specific biomarkers and predict drug-tumor interactions provides greater clarity in selecting patients likely to respond to a treatment earlier in the development process. This focus on precision oncology could lead to more effective and personalized treatments for patients, enhancing outcomes and addressing unmet medical needs in various cancer types.