Envisagenics lands $2M NCI grant to expand AI splicing platform
What's the deal? Envisagenics, a New York AI-driven RNA splicing therapeutics company, has been awarded more than $2 million by the National Cancer InstituteDealroom has a profile for this one. Try Dealroom →. The two-year grant is a Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Direct to Phase II award, funded through the National Institutes of HealthDealroom has a profile for this one. Try Dealroom →.
What's the endgame? The money will fund SpliceDisco, a new machine learning algorithm that links cancer-specific therapeutic targets to the splicing mechanisms that drive disease. It extends the company's SpliceCore platform, which combines AI, transcriptomic analysis, and experimental validation to identify precision therapy targets.
Why splicing? Alternative RNA splicing lets a single gene produce multiple proteins. In many cancers the process malfunctions, creating protein isoforms found only in tumour cells — a largely untapped target for therapies that spare healthy tissue.
Why now? The award builds on prior SBIR grants from the NIH focused on AI-driven splicing analytics. Envisagenics plans to deploy SpliceDisco across both its internal oncology pipeline and external partnership programs.
"We believe SpliceDisco will be a critical tool in helping us identify and prioritize novel cancer targets most prevalent in patient populations," said Martin Akerman, chief technology officer and co-founder. Chief executive officer Maria Luisa Pineda called the award "an important milestone in our mission to unlock the therapeutic potential of RNA splicing biology in oncology."
The signal: At $2 million, the grant sits in the top 10% of all machine learning grant rounds tracked, signalling continued public backing for AI applied to precision oncology. As drug developers hunt for more disease-specific targets, splicing is emerging as a differentiated source of therapeutic opportunity.
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Image credit: Envisagenics
