Novasenta’s discovery process is patient-centric with a focus on in-depth analysis of high-quality samples from human tumors. We comprehensively map the tumor microenvironment and capitalize on the convergence of biology and computation to discover novel, therapeutically relevant targets.

Our Science – A Unique Approach to Target Discovery

Driven by the diverse perspectives of our world-class team, Novasenta has built a unique and dynamic target discovery and validation platform. Our proprietary approach will accelerate the discovery of novel, druggable targets and the development of the next generation of safe and effective cancer therapeutics.

In partnership with our founders and UPMC, Novasenta has generated high-dimensional single cell transcriptomic datasets across multiple human cancers. Through our proprietary computational data mining platform, we interrogate these data to extract relevant biological insights, characterize transcriptionally distinct cell subtypes and states in the tumor microenvironment (TME), and identify the immune networks in which they function. This approach enables Novasenta to identify novel targets across all immune cells and explore how their role in TME immune networks can shape the anti-tumor immune response. We then contextualize our analysis using a proprietary machine learning (ML) and natural language processing (NLP) enabled knowledgebase. The associated algorithms ingest and derive insights from the ever-growing body of public data, including the research literature and public genomic and transcriptomic databases, to prioritize the novel target sets.

Novasenta’s Proprietary Computational Platforms

At the core of Novasenta’s discovery platform lie two distinct, proprietary computational programs. Systematic, comprehensive, and scalable​, these programs make the Novasenta platform a unique and unparalleled approach to cancer target identification. Further, the programs facilitate active discovery dialogue between biologists and computational teams to accelerate the discovery process.

Upon prioritization of target hits, Novasenta uses a comprehensive set of state of the art in vitro and in vivo assays and animal models using CRISPR gene editing technology to validate targets and inform target selection.

Our platform is highly adaptable to explore cancer targets across cell types in the TME.  Based on desired target biology and Novasenta’s continuous, automated data ingestion, the platform is capable of generating unique, prioritized target pools ready for in vitro and in vivo validation and selection.

Our Pipeline

Through scaling of in-house functional assays for antibody screening and selection, Novasenta is rapidly advancing a pipeline of therapeutics against novel immune cell targets discovered by our team of computational and experimental biologists. We believe these programs represent the next generation of immuno-oncology drug candidates, ones that extend hope to patients that there will be safer and more effective cancer therapies to come.