Metabolomics-powered AI platform to find new cancer drug helpers
Official title: Development of a metabolomics enabled AI/ML platform for discovery of new treatments to enhance drug sensitivity in cancer
Funded at Sinopia Biosciences, INC. · NIH-11418364 · Data updated 2026-11-12
A new AI-powered platform uses metabolomics and machine learning to discover drugs that make cancer cells more sensitive to treatment.
Quick facts
| Grant type | Sbir 1 grant |
|---|---|
| Study type | NIH-funded research |
| Funding institution | Sinopia Biosciences, INC. NIH-funded |
| Lab location | 1 site (San Diego, United States) |
| Project start | September 22, 2025 |
| Project end | August 31, 2027 |
| Funding year | 2026 |
| Award (this year) | $114,274 |
| NIH project number | 5R43CA295316-02 |
| Project ID | NIH-11418364 on NIH RePORTER |
Who could benefit from this research
✓Could help
Ideal candidates include adults with cancer where metabolism and drug response are relevant, potentially guiding future trials.
✕Less likely to help
Patients not represented in the initial models or those with cancer types not covered by the platform may not benefit directly.
What this research studies
This project combines large-scale metabolic profiling with advanced AI to uncover how small molecules affect cancer cells. Researchers will build and test a metabolomics-based platform that links chemical effects to cancer cell responses, aiming to identify promising drug combinations. The work is designed to yield data-driven insights into drug mechanisms and potential new therapies for cancer patients. The approach seeks to be unbiased like other phenotypic screens while offering deeper biochemical context through metabolism data.
Why it matters
Potential benefit: If successful, the platform could speed up finding effective drug combinations for cancer and reveal novel metabolic targets.
How similar studies have gone: Preliminary data suggest metabolomics can predict drug actions and toxicity better than some transcriptomic approaches.
Where this research is happening
-
Sinopia Biosciences, INC.
San Diego, United States Active
Researchers
- Principal investigator: Bloem, Bernard — Sinopia Biosciences, INC.
- Study coordinator: Bloem, Bernard
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About this research
- This is an active NIH-funded research project — typically early-stage science, not a clinical trial accepting patient enrollment.
- Some NIH-funded labs run parallel clinical studies or seek volunteers for related work. To check, contact the principal investigator or institution listed above.
- For full project details, budget, and progress reports, visit the official NIH RePORTER page.