Inka Health Study Bridges Gap Between Lung Cancer Clinical Trials and Real-World Patient Outcomes

Inka Health Co-Founders Publish Study on Real-World Applicability of Lung Cancer Trial Outcomes

Onco-Innovations Limited announced that the co-founders of its subsidiary, Inka Health Corp., have published a new study assessing how lung cancer clinical trial results apply to real-world patient populations. The study, titled "Global Transportability of Clinical Trial Outcomes to Real-World Lung Cancer Populations," showed a strong predictive match, with less than 1% variation between trial predictions and actual patient outcomes over 30 months.

This research supports the development of SynoGraph, Inka Health's AI-driven causal analytics platform, which focuses on improving drug development by integrating real-world data. The study’s approach optimizes clinical trial design and helps define patient groups, reducing risks in drug development pipelines.

Key Practical Insights

By simulating patient outcomes before trials begin, the methods presented can enhance trial design and identify more relevant patient populations. This approach decreases uncertainty and potential failures during drug development. SynoGraph, Inka Health’s platform, uses these insights to enable faster, more transparent, and globally applicable drug development through advanced real-world analytics.

Study Details

The study explores how results from controlled clinical trials translate to diverse, real-world patient populations. Specifically, it tests whether outcomes from Lung-MAP S1400I—a leading randomized trial for advanced non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC)—accurately predict results for patients receiving standard care in the US, Germany, and France.

Clinical trials often exclude many patients due to strict eligibility criteria, limiting the applicability of their findings. The researchers applied advanced modeling and external clinical knowledge to account for differences between trial participants and real-world patients, including those typically excluded due to age or comorbidities.

Adjusting for measured clinical factors improved alignment between trial and real-world outcomes, but incorporating additional external knowledge further enhanced prediction accuracy. The model's predicted survival closely matched actual outcomes, with an average discrepancy of just 0.27 months (about 8 days) over 30 months—less than 1% error.

"This work marks a major step in making clinical trial results more relevant to global cancer care," said Paul Arora, Co-Founder of Inka Health. "Incorporating external data and expert knowledge helps capture patient diversity, improving clinical decisions, informing regulatory approvals, and expanding access to innovative treatments."

Strategic Importance for Drug Development

Translating clinical trial results to diverse real-world populations is increasingly important as regulators, payers, and clinicians demand evidence that reflects actual patient outcomes. The methods demonstrated in this study provide a scalable and scientifically sound approach, especially valuable for cancers like NSCLC where patient variability is high.

One of the study’s prominent co-authors is Dr. Vivek Subbiah, Chief of Early-Phase Drug Development at the Sarah Cannon Research Institute. Dr. Subbiah oversees one of the largest early oncology trial networks worldwide and has led over 100 Phase I and II trials. His work has contributed to regulatory approvals by both the FDA and EMA.

"Modeling outcomes for patient groups usually excluded from trials is not just a technical feat—it has clinical and strategic value," said Dr. Subbiah. "It enables faster trial design, smarter decisions on expanding trials, and better evidence for overlooked patients. Tools like these will be crucial for more inclusive and data-driven drug development."

About Inka Health

Inka Health uses AI and causal inference to improve oncology research and drug development. Their proprietary platform, SynoGraph, integrates diverse medical data such as genomics and proteomics to identify which cancer patients are most likely to benefit from specific treatments. This helps pharmaceutical companies optimize clinical trial design, reduce failures, and accelerate bringing therapies to market.

About Onco-Innovations Limited

Onco-Innovations is a Canadian company focused on cancer research and treatment. Its mission centers on preventing and treating cancer through innovative solutions. The company holds an exclusive worldwide license for patented technology targeting solid tumors.