For leaders in pharma R&D and data science, the pressure to make precise translational decisions is greater than ever. Yet, the datasets most teams rely on often fail to deliver what is truly needed. Too often, these resources are fragmented, lack functional depth, or don’t reflect the complex biology of real patient tumors. This gap has created a persistent challenge—one that hinders the performance of AI models and reduces confidence in biomarker hypotheses, slowing progress across oncology drug discovery and development.
In an upcoming case-driven webinar, participants will hear how a multi-disciplinary team leveraged a deeply characterized, functional tumor dataset to successfully identify and validate a new oncology target: Vacuolar Protein Sorting–associated protein 4 (VPS4A/B). The journey began with a gene knockdown screen conducted in 3D ex vivo cultures derived from clinically annotated patient-derived xenograft (PDX) models. By pairing functional outcomes with high-resolution transcriptomic data, researchers trained a machine learning model that could predict VPS4 sensitivity with accuracy. This effort led to the discovery of CHAMP-002, a chemotype that generated strong immunogenic activity and demonstrated efficacy across a range of tumor types, including in combination with PD-1 checkpoint inhibitors.
The session will introduce a framework for embedding deep, functional tumor data into translational workflows to improve decision-making from target selection through early development. By unifying clinical history, multi-omic profiles, phenotypic data, and drug response within a single system, researchers can build AI/ML-ready datasets that better mirror patient biology and support robust translational alignment.
For teams grappling with the limitations of public datasets, struggling to reproduce internal models, or aiming to accelerate precision oncology, this webinar provides a practical view into how functionalized tumor data can reshape discovery and development strategies.
The webinar will be hosted by Michael Ritchie, PhD, MBA, Chief Commercial Officer at Champions Oncology, on Wednesday, September 3, 2025, at 11 a.m. EDT (4 p.m. BST/UK).
