Lantern Pharma says its artificial intelligence-driven drug development model has enabled the company to advance new oncology programs from initial AI-derived insights to first-in-human clinical trials for approximately $2 million to $3 million per program, substantially below what management describes as typical industry development costs.
The clinical-stage precision oncology company said its newer programs have generally moved from AI-generated insights to first-in-human testing within approximately two to three years. Lantern contrasted that with what it estimates is an industry norm of five to 10 years and $25 million to $100 million to reach a comparable stage of development.
The approach is built around Lantern’s RADR artificial intelligence and machine learning platform, which the company uses to identify biological signals, develop biomarker strategies, select potential indications and guide drug-development decisions. Lantern says its broader AI-driven clinical pipeline addresses an estimated combined annual market opportunity exceeding $15 billion.
Lantern is now seeking to create additional value from its AI technology separately from its oncology pipeline. In August, the company formally established Open Medicine AI, or OMAI, as a separate company and entered into board-approved commercial licensing agreements covering the multi-agentic AI co-scientist platform previously introduced as withZeta.ai.
OMAI licenses related models, data, algorithms and other assets and personnel from Lantern. The business already has a platform in production, paid subscription tiers and engineering centers in Dallas and Bengaluru.
The company plans to operate OMAI as a commercial software business through tiered subscriptions and enterprise agreements. Potential customers include biotechnology and pharmaceutical R&D organizations, academic medical centers, life sciences investors and disease foundations.
OMAI remains wholly owned by Lantern, but the business intends to raise outside capital in exchange for OMAI equity. Its longer-term objective is to become separately listed on a national stock exchange or market, with Lantern expecting to remain one of its largest shareholders.
Lantern continues to use its AI platform across its own clinical portfolio. Its Phase 2 HARMONIC trial of LP-300 has produced emerging data showing a progression-free survival benefit in patients with the EGFR exon 21 L858R mutation. Median progression-free survival reached 8.9 months among patients completing six cycles of LP-300, with a hazard ratio of 0.37.
More than 70% of evaluable L858R patients experienced reductions in target-lesion size, including complete and partial responses, while the clinical benefit rate reached 77%. Certain responses lasted beyond two years, and Lantern said no clinically meaningful toxicity was added beyond the chemotherapy regimen.
The FDA reviewed key changes to the HARMONIC protocol without objection. Enrollment will now concentrate on EGFR exon 21 L858R patients using a single-arm design, while the maximum number of LP-300 treatment cycles will increase from six to eight.
Lantern is also advancing LP-184, or zirdafulven, across multiple indications. The EMA cleared an investigator-initiated Phase 1b/2 trial in biomarker-selected advanced bladder cancer, while an FDA-cleared Phase 1b/2 study in relapsed or refractory advanced or metastatic triple-negative breast cancer is progressing toward initiation.
The company ended June with approximately $7.4 million of cash, cash equivalents and marketable securities after raising approximately $4.4 million of gross proceeds through a May registered direct offering. Q2 loss from operations declined approximately 25% year-over-year to $3.5 million.
KEY QUOTES:
“The quarter also showed what our AI-enabled model produces: a Notice of Allowance on the patient-selection signature for LP-184, European clearance to administer that drug in a dual-biomarker-selected bladder cancer trial, and Open Medicine AI established as a separate company. We have advanced new programs from AI-derived insights to first-in-human clinical trials in roughly two to three years at approximately $2 to $3 million each. The industry norm to reach that same point is five to ten years and $25 to $100 million. That difference is not a marketing claim; it is our operating model.”
“Open Medicine AI is not a research project with a logo on it. It has board approval, executed licenses, a platform in production, paying subscription tiers, and two engineering centers. We believe that this is a great foundation from which to attract investors who can value AI and a technology-centric disruptive business separate from our portfolio of cancer drug-candidates.”
“Separating OMAI is intended to let each business be funded by the investors who understand it and valued on the metrics that apply to it.”
Panna Sharma, President and CEO of Lantern Pharma and Founder of Open Medicine AI
