For Patients and Caregivers
Ordered by your oncologist, our test measures how more than 150 FDA-approved drugs and drug combinations affect your own cancer cells in the lab, giving your care team more information to consider when choosing treatment.
For Physicians
Learn how we combine live-cell drug sensitivity testing, DNA/RNA sequencing, and machine learning to give you patient-specific laboratory data that informs treatment decisions.
For Industry
A new lens for drug development, target identification, and biomarker discovery, with live-cell testing performed across [52] solid and hematologic cancer types
Clinical Feasibility Milestones
Data Published in Nature Medicine (2024)*
83%
Objective response rate (5 of 6 patients) when treatments matched early laboratory insights, compared with 13% (1 of 8) on standard regimens.*
8.5x
Median improvement in progression-free survival (PFS) compared to each patient’s prior line of therapy.*
Feasibility Demonstrated
The clinical workflow successfully met prospective feasibility endpoints for testing turnaround and drug mapping.*
*Objective response is defined as partial response or better. These exploratory data points are from a small, non-randomized feasibility study (NCT03860376) prospectively published in Nature Medicine (2024;30(4):990–1000). This investigator-initiated clinical research used early-stage functional testing methods before the platform was standardized within First Ascent Biomedical’s commercial, CLIA-certified, and CAP-accredited laboratory infrastructure. Because study cohorts were non-randomized and sample sizes are small, these foundational results are descriptive of clinical feasibility and are not predictive of statistical performance outcomes on the commercial xDRIVE® platform. The xDRIVE® platform functions strictly as an AI-powered clinical decision-support software system to assist treating oncologists; final therapeutic selections remain entirely within the independent clinical judgment of the medical provider.
Logan’s Story: Functional Precision Medicine in Pediatric AML
Watch how Logan’s care team utilized early functional precision medicine insights from a clinical research study to help support treatment selections in his fight against acute myeloid leukemia.
Our foundational testing methodology is described in peer-reviewed publications and was developed in collaboration with academic and clinical partners. We continue to investigate its potential to assist physicians managing the most challenging, advanced cancers.
Logan’s experience reflects his individual clinical case. Individual results vary, and functional testing does not guarantee treatment success. Testing was performed as part of an investigator-initiated research study utilizing early-stage testing methods before the platform was standardized within First Ascent Biomedical’s commercial, CLIA-certified, and CAP-accredited laboratory infrastructure. Treatment decisions were made independently by Logan’s physicians. Broadcast clip used with permission.
A Deeper Look at the xDRIVE® Platform
xDRIVE® (Ex Vivo Drug Response Identification and Validation Engine) combines live-cell drug sensitivity testing, comprehensive DNA/RNA sequencing, and a proprietary machine-learning model. The oncologist receives a ranked report of how the patient’s tumor cells responded to each drug and combination, to help inform treatment decisions.
HOW CANCER CELLS RESPOND
Functional drug validation
Measuring how a patient’s live cancer cells respond to drugs outside the body.
WHAT DRIVES THE CANCER
Genomic sequencing
Identifying molecular markers through DNA and RNA sequencing.
DATA INTEGRATION
The xDRIVE® Platform
A machine-learning model that integrates both data sets for each patient.
THE RESULT
Ranked Report for the Treating Oncologist
Drugs and combinations ranked by laboratory response, from strongest to little or no response, for solid and liquid cancers.
150+
FDA-approved drugs and combinations
DNA + RNA
Sequencing of each patient sample
~10 days
Typical turnaround from sample receipt
Testing is performed within First Ascent Biomedical’s high-complexity, CLIA-certified and CAP-accredited laboratory infrastructure. As a specialized laboratory-developed test (LDT), this platform provides sophisticated clinical decision-support insights designed to supplement, rather than replace, the independent clinical judgment of the treating physician.