SBIR Phase I: A web portal for artificial intelligence (AI)-based comprehensive discovery of repositioning drugs

该小型企业创新研究（SBIR）第一阶段项目加速了潜在新药选择的开发，以大大减少时间和成本，改善癌症患者的生存结局。该项目将使用一种新的人工智能（AI）技术，利用大数据在用尽所有治疗方案后，全面发现治疗难治性非小细胞肺癌（NSCLC）患者的重新定位药物。药物重新定位（也称为药物再利用）涉及研究现有药物用于新的治疗目的。该软件产品使肿瘤学家能够选择重新定位药物和设计临床试验。该项目将专门帮助那些在先前治疗失败后无法治疗癌症患者的肿瘤学家以及他们的患者。学术界和工业界的学科专家之间的新型伙伴关系将提高该技术的有效性。该项目期间开发的软件产品可以促进制药公司的研发，造福数百万癌症患者，通过提高医疗质量来减轻医疗负担。这个小型企业创新研究（SBIR）第一阶段项目将测试开发使用专利人工智能（AI）开发的软件产品的可行性。该技术使肿瘤学家能够在既往治疗失败的肺癌患者的治疗中选择重新定位药物。基于已建立的概念验证，该项目将开发一个软件产品，该软件产品具有基于云的后端数据门户，其中使用人工智能技术发现了超过378种治疗肺癌的治疗化合物。 该解决方案还将具有基于网络的前端，具有图形用户界面，供肿瘤学家根据患者反应特征和治疗肺癌的新适应症选择重新定位药物。由于重新定位药物的安全性特征已经确定，因此其新适应症的有效性测试可以绕过临床前研究和I期临床试验。该软件产品可以加速现有药物新适应症的II/III期临床试验，以获得食品和药物管理局（FDA）的批准。同时，该解决方案也将为制药公司的新药开发提供便利。一旦可行性得到验证，该团队将把软件产品扩展到其他癌症类型。该奖项反映了NSF的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的知识价值和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。

This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project accelerates the development of potential new drug options for improved survival outcomes of cancer patients with greatly reduced time and costs. This project will use a novel artificial intelligence (AI) technology that utilizes big data to comprehensively discover repositioning drugs for treating refractory non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) patients after exhausting all therapeutic options. Drug repositioning (also known as drug repurposing) involves the investigation of existing drugs for new therapeutic purposes. The software product enables oncologists to select repositioning drugs and design clinical trials. This project will specifically aid oncologists who do not have options to treat cancer patients after the prior therapies failed as well as their patients. The novel partnership between subject experts in academia and industry will increase the effectiveness of the technology. The software product built during the project can facilitate the research and development at pharmaceutical companies, benefit millions of cancer patients, and reduce the healthcare burden by improving the quality of care.This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project will test the feasibility of developing a software product developed using a patented artificial intelligence (AI) technology that enables oncologists to choose among repositioning drugs for the treatment of lung cancer in patients with failed prior therapies. Based on established proofs of concept, this project will develop a software product with a cloud-based backend data portal with more than 378 therapeutic compounds discovered using AI technology for treating lung cancer. The solution will also have a web-based frontend with a graphical user interface for oncologists to select a repositioning drug based on patient responder characteristics and new indications for treating lung cancer. Since the safety profiles of repositioning drugs are established, the efficacy test of their new indications can bypass preclinical studies and Phase I clinical trials. The software product can accelerate Phase II/III clinical trials of the new indications of existing drugs for Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approval. Meanwhile, this solution will also facilitate new drug development for pharmaceutical companies. Once feasibility is validated, the team will expand the software product to other cancer types.This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.