Lantern Pharma Reports First Quarter 2026 Results While Expanding AI-Driven Oncology and Commercial AI Platform Strategy
Lantern Pharma reported operational highlights and financial results for the first quarter ended March 31, 2026, outlining continued progress across its precision oncology pipeline, regulatory milestones, and artificial intelligence commercialization initiatives. The company also detailed its strategy to expand beyond drug development into AI-enabled oncology infrastructure through the launch of withZeta.ai and broader deployment of its proprietary RADR platform technologies.
Lantern Pharma, which leverages artificial intelligence and machine learning through its RADR platform to accelerate oncology drug discovery and development, stated that the first quarter of 2026 reflected disciplined capital management combined with continued advancement of multiple clinical-stage programs.
The company emphasized that it reduced research and development spending by 47% year over year while simultaneously advancing several oncology assets through important clinical and regulatory milestones. Management described the quarter as evidence of the operational efficiency enabled by Lantern’s AI-guided drug development model.
According to Panna Sharma, the company’s operating discipline and capital-efficient execution continue to differentiate Lantern within both the clinical-stage oncology sector and the rapidly evolving AI-driven biotechnology landscape.
Sharma stated that Lantern successfully advanced multiple clinical programs during the quarter, including receiving a favorable outcome from a Type C meeting with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration regarding the Phase 2 HARMONIC trial of LP-300, while also obtaining Investigational New Drug clearance for the first pediatric central nervous system cancer program under its wholly owned subsidiary, Starlight Therapeutics.
He explained that these milestones were achieved while maintaining tight budget discipline, demonstrating what the company believes is the advantage of using artificial intelligence to improve the pace, efficiency, and cost structure of oncology drug development.
In parallel with its clinical progress, Lantern also expanded its commercial AI strategy through the public launch of withZeta.ai, which the company describes as the first multi-agentic AI co-scientist platform specifically designed for rare and complex cancer drug development.
The company indicated that the launch marks a transition from internally focused AI infrastructure to externally commercialized AI products capable of supporting pharmaceutical companies, cancer research institutions, and biotechnology organizations.
Lantern also announced plans to separate withZeta.ai into an independent business entity. Management believes the move could unlock dedicated funding opportunities, attract specialized AI talent, and allow investors to independently value the company’s clinical drug development business and AI platform operations.
According to Sharma, Lantern now effectively operates two distinct value-creation engines: a clinical-stage oncology business focused on developing therapies for solid tumors, hematologic malignancies, and pediatric brain cancers, and an AI platform business targeting the rapidly expanding market for AI-enabled drug discovery and rare cancer research.
The company believes the AI-driven pharmaceutical research market could represent a near-term opportunity valued between $20 billion and $50 billion globally.
To support these efforts, Lantern recently completed financing activities that could generate up to $9.25 million, including potential proceeds from future warrant exercises. Management stated that the financing strengthens the company’s balance sheet and extends its operational runway into the first quarter of 2027.
Advancing the Clinical Pipeline
Lantern’s oncology pipeline currently includes multiple AI-guided drug candidates targeting solid tumors, blood cancers, and pediatric oncology indications. Collectively, the company estimates the annual market potential across its programs exceeds $15 billion.
The portfolio includes LP-300, currently being evaluated in the Phase 2 HARMONIC clinical trial for non-small cell lung cancer in never-smokers and non-smokers carrying EGFR exon 21 L858R mutations.
Additional programs include LP-184, which is planned for Phase 1b/2 studies in biomarker-defined solid tumors, and LP-284, currently being evaluated in Phase 1 studies involving hematologic malignancies and adult soft tissue sarcomas.
Through Starlight Therapeutics, Lantern is also advancing STAR-001, also known as LP-184, in pediatric and adult central nervous system cancers.
The company noted that its AI-guided RADR platform has been central to identifying therapeutic opportunities and accelerating development timelines. Lantern stated that, on average, its programs have advanced from initial AI insights to first-in-human studies within approximately two to three years and at development costs between $1 million and $2.5 million per program.
LP-300 HARMONIC Trial Progress
One of the company’s most important recent developments involved the HARMONIC trial evaluating LP-300 in advanced non-small cell lung cancer.
In May 2026, Lantern received responses from the FDA following a Type C meeting request discussing proposed amendments to the study protocol. According to the company, the FDA raised no objections to key modifications, providing a clearer regulatory pathway for continued development.
Future enrollment in the HARMONIC study will now focus specifically on patients with EGFR exon 21 L858R mutations, a subgroup associated with poorer responses to osimertinib-based therapies and inferior clinical outcomes.
Lantern stated that preliminary analyses suggest these patients may derive greater benefit from the LP-300 triplet regimen.
The protocol amendments also increase the maximum number of LP-300 treatment cycles from six to eight, supported by safety data indicating the extended treatment duration does not alter the drug’s safety profile.
Additionally, the study is transitioning away from randomization and will discontinue enrollment into the control arm, converting the trial into a single-arm design focused solely on patients with EGFR exon 21 L858R mutations.
The HARMONIC trial continues enrolling patients across the United States and Taiwan. Enrollment in Japan was completed in July 2025 across five clinical sites, including National Cancer Center Tokyo.
Lantern previously reported encouraging preliminary results from the study’s initial safety cohort, including an 86% clinical benefit rate and a 43% objective response rate among the first seven U.S. patients enrolled. One patient reportedly achieved a durable complete response with survival approaching two years.
The company expects additional clinical updates from HARMONIC during the second half of 2026.
Starlight Therapeutics Expands CNS Oncology Programs
Lantern also highlighted continued progress at Starlight Therapeutics, particularly within pediatric and adult brain cancer programs.
Earlier in 2026, the FDA cleared the IND application for a planned Phase 1 pediatric CNS cancer study evaluating STAR-001 in atypical teratoid rhabdoid tumor and other rare pediatric cancers.
The therapy has already received both Rare Pediatric Disease Designation and Orphan Drug Designation for ATRT, along with additional rare disease designations involving hepatoblastoma, rhabdomyosarcoma, and malignant rhabdoid tumors.
Lantern noted that these designations may create future eligibility for FDA Priority Review Vouchers, which historically have generated transaction values ranging from approximately $100 million to $150 million or more.
In adult oncology, Starlight is also preparing a Phase 1b trial evaluating STAR-001 in relapsed glioblastoma alongside spironolactone.
Preclinical studies reportedly demonstrated significant synergy between STAR-001 and spironolactone in glioblastoma models, producing enhanced anti-tumor activity compared with either treatment alone.
Lantern believes the program addresses a major unmet need because recurrent glioblastoma continues to have extremely poor outcomes, with median survival after recurrence remaining under nine months.
Launch of withZeta.ai
In April 2026, Lantern officially launched withZeta.ai during a debut event at Nasdaq MarketSite and presentations at the American Association for Cancer Research Annual Meeting.
The company describes withZeta.ai as a multi-agentic AI co-scientist platform capable of supporting biomarker discovery, therapeutic strategy generation, trial design optimization, and rare cancer research workflows.
According to Lantern, the platform is designed for more than 438 rare cancer indications and combines multiple specialized AI agents that collaboratively analyze genomic data, predict drug interactions, identify therapeutic targets, and generate development strategies.
Since launch, the company said the platform has been evaluated by biotechnology firms, cancer research centers, consultants, and institutional investors across the United States, Europe, and Asia.
Lantern plans to continue commercializing the platform through subscription contracts and expanded partnerships within the rare cancer research ecosystem.
Expansion of predictBBB.ai
The company also announced a major expansion of predictBBB.ai, transforming the platform from a focused blood-brain barrier permeability prediction tool into a broader molecular intelligence service powered by what Lantern calls a Large Quantitative Model.
The updated platform now supports analyses involving permeability, solubility, binding affinity, metabolic stability, and molecular similarity across multiple therapeutic applications.
Lantern stated that predictBBB.ai currently holds five of the top eleven positions on the Therapeutic Data Commons leaderboard for blood-brain barrier permeability prediction, with the leading model achieving 94.1% accuracy.
Financial Results
As of March 31, 2026, Lantern reported approximately $6.3 million in cash, cash equivalents, and marketable securities, compared with approximately $10.1 million at the end of 2025.
The company subsequently raised approximately $4.4 million through a registered direct offering completed in May 2026.
Research and development expenses declined to approximately $1.7 million during the first quarter of 2026, compared with $3.3 million during the same period in 2025. The reduction was primarily driven by lower clinical trial research expenses and decreased salary-related costs.
General and administrative expenses increased modestly to approximately $1.7 million, largely due to higher patent expenses, salaries, and investor relations activities.
Lantern reported a net loss of approximately $3.3 million, or $0.30 per share, during the quarter, compared with a net loss of approximately $4.5 million, or $0.42 per share, during the prior-year period.
The company outlined several anticipated catalysts for the remainder of 2026, including additional HARMONIC trial data, new LP-184 and STAR-001 clinical studies, commercialization expansion for withZeta.ai, and continued scaling of its AI Center of Excellence in India.
Lantern also plans to pursue additional financing opportunities, grant funding, and strategic partnerships to support continued development across both its oncology pipeline and AI platform businesses.
About Lantern Pharma
Lantern Pharma (NASDAQ: LTRN) is an AI-driven company transforming the cost, pace, and timeline of oncology drug discovery and development. Our proprietary AI and machine learning (ML) platform, RADR®, leverages over 200 billion oncology-focused data points and a library of 200+ advanced ML algorithms to help solve billion-dollar, real-world problems in oncology drug development and generate oncology medicines at dramatically reduced costs and accelerated timelines.
By harnessing the power of AI and with input from world-class scientific advisors and collaborators, we have accelerated the development of our growing pipeline of drug candidates that span multiple cancer indications, including both solid tumors and blood cancers and an antibody-drug conjugate (ADC) program. On average, our newly developed drug programs have been advanced from initial AI insights to first-in-human clinical trials in 2–3 years and at approximately $1.0–2.5 million per program.
Our lead development programs include a Phase 2 clinical program in never-smoker and non-smoker NSCLC, planned Phase 1b/2 trials in biomarker-defined solid tumors, and an ongoing Phase 1 program in hematologic malignancies and adult soft tissue sarcomas. We have also established a wholly-owned subsidiary, Starlight Therapeutics, to focus exclusively on the clinical execution of our promising therapies for CNS and brain cancers. In April 2026, Lantern publicly launched withZeta.ai, the first multi-agentic AI co-scientist platform purpose-built for rare and complex cancer drug development. Our AI-driven pipeline of innovative product candidates is estimated to have a combined annual market potential of over $15 billion USD.
