DxPP

The Drug Prediction Platform (DxPP) from First Ascent Biomedical is an AI/ML-driven functional precision medicine platform designed for pharmaceutical and biotech companies engaged in oncology drug discovery, validation, and development. The platform tests drug candidates against live, patient-derived cancer cells from solid or hematologic tumors, delivering biologically validated, prioritized insights in approximately 10 days or less. It is intended for drug developers who need to screen therapeutic agents against broad cancer populations while reducing preclinical and clinical risk.

DxPP combines ex vivo cancer-cell testing, artificial intelligence, and multi-omics genomics to replace outdated preclinical proxies with patient-derived models that reflect the biological complexity of human tumors. First Ascent Biomedical has completed therapeutic development projects with eight biotech and pharmaceutical partners and maintains a growing biobank of patient-derived samples alongside pharmacogenomic biomarker AI/ML capabilities applicable to preclinical and clinical datasets of all sizes.

Supported Use Cases

• Drug development, repurposing, and repositioning
• Expanding access and indications for use
• Mechanism-driven drug combination design
• Explainable multi-omics biomarker development
• Trial pre-enrollment patient screening
• Companion diagnostics development

How the Platform Works

1. A fresh biopsy sample is collected from the target solid or hematologic cancer
2. Compounds and combinations are tested ex vivo against the patient-derived cancer cells
3. The DxPP platform delivers prioritized insights for target populations in an average of 10 days

Drug Development Capabilities

• De-risks Phase I trials by pre-qualifying compounds in human-relevant tumor models, reducing reliance on in silico and animal testing
• Supports regulatory submissions including Investigational New Drug (IND) applications, FDA Breakthrough Therapy Designation, Orphan Drug Designation, PREA compliance, and NIH Precision Medicine Initiatives
• Identifies novel drug combinations and supports label expansion across new indications
• Uncovers functional biomarkers tied to actual cancer cell behavior rather than predictive models
• Reduces trial failures through improved patient targeting and trial design
• Identifies new combinations and indications to extend the value of existing assets, including those nearing loss of exclusivity

Platform Characteristics

• Data is grounded in real cancer cell response rather than genomics-only analysis or simulated AI models
• Validated and published in peer-reviewed journals
• Delivers pharmacological and multi-omics preclinical data in near real time
• Predicts drug response in a near-human microenvironment to reduce early-stage development timelines and costs
• Generates data intended to accelerate FDA submissions and market entry

First Ascent Biomedical is based in Miami, FL, and offers a partner brief for pharmaceutical and biotech organizations interested in applying DxPP to their oncology pipelines. The platform is positioned to support projects ranging from early discovery through clinical trial design and regulatory submission.