Automated combination discovery: patient-sample screens feeding Bayesian platform trials
There are far more possible drug combinations than can ever be tried in patients. Test thousands on living samples of real tumours, then feed only the winners into adaptive trials.
The combination space of approved and investigational cancer drugs is astronomically large; combinations reach the clinic through intuition and commercial convenience. Functional precision medicine (ex vivo drug testing on patient cells, EXALT trial in haematological malignancies) and high-throughput organoid screening make empirical combination discovery on patient material feasible. The proposal is an integrated pipeline: standardised ex vivo combination screens on fresh samples from trial participants, machine learning to prioritise synergistic and resistance-preventing pairs, and a standing Bayesian platform trial that adds and drops combination arms based on pipeline output.
- Too many combinations to test · There are thousands of possible drug pairs and sequences. Trials can test a few dozen a year.
- Preclinical models that do not predict people · Nine in ten cancer drugs that work in mice fail in humans. Our models are the reason.
Pages like this
not linked directly; found by shared links- IdeaGrow each trial patient's tumour as organoids to decide which platform arm opens next
Shares Patient-derived organoids to pick ADC payloads, Functional (ex vivo) drug testing, Patient-derived organoids, Too many combinations to test.
- IdeaAn open engine that ranks every drug pair by predicted synergy before anyone runs a trial
Shares Patient-derived organoids to pick ADC payloads, AI-driven drug & target discovery, Patient-derived organoids, Too many combinations to test.
- InstitutionAtrium Health Wake Forest Baptist Comprehensive Cancer Center
Shares Functional (ex vivo) drug testing, Patient-derived organoids, Preclinical models that do not predict people, Colorectal cancer.
- IdeaRun the mouse or organoid trial at the same time as the human trial
Shares Patient-derived organoids to pick ADC payloads, Functional (ex vivo) drug testing, Patient-derived organoids, Preclinical models that do not predict people.
- IdeaA funded organoid and PDX panel as the go/no-go gate before IND-enabling money
Shares Patient-derived organoids to pick ADC payloads, Functional (ex vivo) drug testing, Patient-derived organoids, Preclinical models that do not predict people.
- IdeaA bone marrow niche on a chip to study human dormancy
Shares Functional (ex vivo) drug testing, Patient-derived organoids, Preclinical models that do not predict people.
- IdeaTest drugs on freshly cut slices of the patient's own tumour
Shares Functional (ex vivo) drug testing, Patient-derived organoids, Preclinical models that do not predict people.
- IdeaZebrafish avatars for a drug answer within a week
Shares Functional (ex vivo) drug testing, Preclinical models that do not predict people, Colorectal cancer.