Netramark launches AI glioblastoma research collab

Executive Summary

• Netramark Holdings Inc. has entered into a new collaboration with a leading United States academic medical centre to apply its NetraAI platform to glioblastoma (GBM) research.
• The partnership grants Netramark access to proprietary clinical and biomarker data sets, specifically longitudinal cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) proteomic data, to develop a therapeutic decision support tool.
• The initiative aims to identify patient subgroups and optimize trial enrichment strategies to address the high failure rate (>90%) and poor survival rates associated with GBM clinical trials.

Key Details

• Collaboration Structure: Netramark has secured a license to proprietary know-how and access to clinical/biomarker data from a US academic medical centre.
• Technology Application: The company’s "NetraAI" explainable AI platform will be used to analyze data, separating it into explainable and unexplainable subsets to identify patient subgroups and build a decision support tool for future GBM trials.
• Data Source: The academic partner is providing expanded longitudinal glioblastoma proteomic data sets generated on the SomaLogic platform, along with related deidentified materials.
• Project Objectives: The analysis focuses on generating novel insights from longitudinal CSF proteomic data to create "NetraPersonas" (collections of patients, variables, and statistical evidence) for optimizing trial enrichment. Specific analytical goals include:
  • Identifying markers distinguishing GBM samples from non-tumour controls.
  • Differentiating GBM from supratentorial brain metastases to refine glioma-specific biomarkers.
  • Contrasting primary and recurrent gliomas to identify molecular markers of recurrence and tumour evolution.
  • Evaluating paired pre- and post-surgical resection samples to understand molecular changes from surgery.
  • Analyzing paired pre- and post-treatment samples to assess therapy response and resistance mechanisms.
  • Exploring pre- and post-immunotherapy lumbar CSF samples to identify molecular effects of immunotherapy.
• Market Context: Glioblastoma is described as an aggressive cancer with a median survival of 15 months and fewer than 7% five-year survival rates. Clinical trials in this area have a failure rate exceeding 90%, often due to heterogeneous patient populations and limited predictive biomarkers.
• Strategic Value: The collaboration aims to help trial sponsors design more efficient, targeted, and successful glioblastoma studies by leveraging explainable AI to reduce overfitting and improve patient segmentation.

Notable Quotes

• "We are excited to collaborate with a leading academic medical centre on this challenging area of oncology," said Josh Spiegel, president of Netramark. "By applying NetraAI to high-quality glioblastoma data sets, we aim to identify explainable patient subgroups that can guide treatment strategies, accelerate biomarker discovery and support the design of more successful clinical trials."