From data to drugs in 2021
By Laura Kleiman, PhD, Founder and CEO of Reboot Rx
Our nonprofit’s mission is to fast-track the development of affordable cancer treatments using repurposed generic drugs, AI technology, and innovative funding models. In 2021, we completed a proof of concept of our technology, showing that it can quickly sift through massive amounts of data to find the most consequential evidence. We then deployed our technology to rigorously analyze 16,000 published studies and identify the most promising non-cancer generic drugs for the treatment of prostate cancer. I include some highlights below.
In 2022, we will evaluate our top drug candidates for prostate cancer and gather additional molecular and real-world data. We will also apply a similar strategy to identify promising treatments for other cancer types. Reach out if you are interested in partnering on these initiatives. You can help us reach our next milestones by making a tax-deductible donation at https://rebootrx.org/donate.
Wishing you a happy and healthy 2022!
Highlights from 2021:
COVID-Cancer Project. At the start of the pandemic, we decided to conduct a proof of concept of our technology and synthesize the rapidly growing data on how COVID-19 and its treatments affect cancer patients. We made the aggregated evidence freely available in interactive dashboards and collaborated with Dr. Charlie Swanton (Group Leader at The Francis Crick Institute and Chief Clinician at Cancer Research UK) and his team to analyze the data. Our results have been shared with more than 40,000 researchers and doctors at 120 cancer centers to inform research and clinical decision-making.
Prostate Cancer Project. With confidence that our technology works, we wanted to do a rigorous deep dive into one cancer type to identify the most promising generic drugs to repurpose. Patient advocate Brian McCloskey approached us with the idea of applying our technology to help patients like him with advanced prostate cancer who urgently need more treatment options. This summer, we launched our Prostate Cancer Project in collaboration with oncologists Dr. Mitchell Gross (Lawrence J. Ellison Institute for Transformative Medicine of USC) and Dr. Daniel Hoth (former Chief of the Investigational Drug Branch of the National Cancer Institute). We analyzed more than 16,000 published studies in only 12 weeks using our machine learning models, surfacing data on 81 non-cancer generics that have been tested for treating prostate cancer across 272 clinical studies.
Policy. Hundreds of promising repurposing opportunities are being overlooked due to a market failure. We published a policy proposal calling on the Biden-Harris Administration to create the Repurposing Generics Program, a federal program to address the lack of funding and coordination for clinical trials evaluating repurposed generic drugs for cancer.
Presentations and Media. We presented our work at the STAT Health Tech Summit, AAAI Conference on Artificial Intelligence, American Association for Cancer Research COVID-19 and Cancer Meeting, AI-Driven Drug Repurposing and Repositioning Summit, Davis Institute for Artificial Intelligence at Colby College, University College London, Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, Prostate Cancer Foundation Scientific Retreat, Moffitt Cancer Center, MIT, General Assembly, and CPhI Discover. I was interviewed on the Founded by Women, Startups for Good, and Breast Cancer Conversations podcasts. Our work was covered by the ASCO Post, Oncology Times, OncLive, Boston Business Journal, Massachusetts Life Sciences Center, and Drug Discovery News.
Fundraising and Awards. Reboot Rx secured financial support from individuals, foundations, and corporations. I was named a CHM Patrick J. McGovern Tech for Humanity Prize Changemaker finalist and an Extraordinary Women Advancing Healthcare Honoree by The Commonwealth Institute. Reboot Rx was the first nonprofit organization selected for the Massachusetts Life Sciences Center’s MassNextGen Initiative, a year-long program supporting early-stage women-led life sciences companies with funding and executive mentorship.
Internship Program. We completed another year of our extremely successful internship program with hands-on research experiences and career development workshops. Some of our students were sponsored by the Roux Institute at Northeastern University, PKG Center at MIT, and Yawkey Nonprofit Internship Program at Boston University. We have now trained more than 40 emerging biomedical and data scientists in cancer research and entrepreneurship, with a focus on women and people of color.