xDRIVE Platform

The xDRIVE Platform is a clinical decision support tool developed by First Ascent Biomedical, designed for oncologists treating patients who have exhausted standard therapies. The platform combines functional ex vivo drug testing, genomic sequencing, and AI-driven analysis to generate patient-specific treatment recommendations using FDA-approved agents, covering all solid and liquid tumor types.

First Ascent partners with referring oncologists to identify accessible combination or mono-therapy options. Validation studies conducted with major cancer centers indicate a 13.5-fold median improvement in progression-free survival for refractory and recurrent cancers, with treatment plans that significantly extend life in over 80% of cases. A prospective clinical study published in Nature Medicine found that 83% of patients received new, viable treatment options, with an 8.5x median improvement in progression-free survival and reports delivered in an average of 10 days.

Core Platform Capabilities

• Functional ex vivo drug validation: Live tumor cells are tested against a panel of over 150 FDA-approved and investigational therapies and combinations to observe real-time responses.
• Genomic sequencing: DNA and RNA sequencing is performed to identify underlying mutations and molecular characteristics of the patient's cancer.
• AI Cancer Weakness Mapping: A proprietary Cancer Weakness AI synthesizes functional and genomic data to identify the specific vulnerabilities of an individual patient's cancer.

Workflow Steps

1. A fresh biopsy sample is collected — liquid or solid, core or needle.
2. Live cancer cells are tested ex vivo against the panel of FDA-approved therapies and combinations.
3. Physicians receive a patient-specific report detailing how the cancer responds to tested drugs, delivered in an average of 10 days.

Published Literature and Clinical Evidence

• AI/ML individualization studies include publications on probabilistic Boolean modeling for biomarker identification, deep functional and molecular characterization of high-risk sarcomas, probabilistic modeling of personalized drug combinations, and functionally defined therapeutic targets in diffuse intrinsic pontine glioma (DIPG).
• Open trial results include ASCO 2024 clinical results demonstrating technical feasibility of integrating functional precision medicine, and studies on ex vivo drug sensitivity testing combined with multi-omics profiling for minority childhood cancer patients.
• First Ascent is currently involved in two registered clinical studies: NCT05857969 and NCT06024603.

Referral and Engagement

• First Ascent can arrange presentations on the Drug Prediction Platform and clinical results for oncologists.
• The team is available to work with oncologists on specific patient referrals.
• Physician FAQs are available through the First Ascent website.

First Ascent Biomedical is based in Miami, FL. The platform is currently accessible through clinical trials, with the goal of broader availability outside of a clinical trial setting. The company also works with pharmaceutical and publication partners in support of biomarker development and precision oncology research.