Methodology

How MBRS evaluates biological risk

MBRS is a biology-first system designed to surface differentiation, mispricing, and landscape shifts before clinical outcomes are known.

We quantify how drugs interact with biology, how those interactions translate into disease-relevant effects, and how each program compares within its competitive landscape.

Biological modeling & signal extraction

Systematically model drug–biology interactions to identify the underlying signals that drive efficacy and risk.

Disease alignment & outcome inference

Evaluate whether those signals restore, conflict with, or amplify disease biology to infer likely outcomes.

Ecosystem mapping & differentiation

Position each asset within its indication landscape to measure competitive density and biological advantage.

Integrated scoring & issuance

Combine signals into standardized outputs that enable cross-program comparison and decision-making.

MBRS decision workflow

Choose the program. Triage broadly. Then add specialty precision.

Start with a processed asset–indication already in MBRS or score a program of your own. MBRS Standard then provides the common broad triage pass; a selected compiled Perspective Landscape adds a specialty- or context-specific higher-conviction lens.

Pass 1 · Choose → Pass 2 · Triage → Pass 3 · Precision
Pass 1 · Choose what to evaluate

Start from MBRS data or bring your own program.

Entry point
A · Processed asset–indication
Find an asset–indication already processed in the MBRS database.

Use the registered universe to inspect a program that already has an MBRS Standard position and supporting views.

B · Your own program
Score program evidence privately.

Use MBRS AI for program documents and/or Private Compound Submission for account-private compound analysis.

Pass 2 · Triage

MBRS Standard

Broad first-pass screen
Coverage first

The fixed MBRS Standard is the common triage coordinate across drug–indication programs. It is designed to cover the broad universe and identify what deserves deeper diligence before a more contextual lens is applied.

0.74
AUC
0.66
Margin AUC
60%
Decisive accuracy
97%
Coverage
Calibration gap 0.35n=533Top-margin quartile 80% accurate
Pass 3 · Precision

Select a Compiled Perspective Landscape

Specialty- or context-specific higher-conviction lens
Context first
Validated scoped-landscape example

Each Landscape is independently compiled around a defined evidence or specialty scope. It re-reads the same MBRS universe through that context, allowing higher-conviction selective triage without changing the Pass 2 Standard.

Active lens: Validated scoped-landscape example
0.91
AUC
+0.17
Δ vs Standard
93%
Decisive accuracy
63%
Coverage
Margin AUC 0.62Calibration gap 0.19n=533Top-margin quartile 94% accurate
How a Landscape perspective is formed

One Standard, multiple independently compiled conviction lenses.

MBRS Standard provides a consistent reference across programs. Compiled Perspective Landscapes offer additional context for focused evaluation without replacing the Standard reference.

Common anchor

Pass 2 stays fixed as MBRS Standard. Every Landscape remains interpretable against that same common coordinate.

Scoped formation

Each Landscape represents a defined scientific or development context.

Independent lenses

Specialty perspectives are evaluated individually and may highlight different considerations for the same program.

The Landscape validation readout describes how well that completed lens separates known outcomes across the shared labeled cohort. It is a property of the perspective as a decision instrument, not a claim that every individual program inherits the displayed accuracy.

Validation interpretation: the scoped-Landscape result is best described as blinded, out-of-sample, quasi-prospective validation using historical outcomes: external probes were absent from the baseline, inputs were limited through Phase I, and later outcomes were withheld. In the validated example, discrimination increased from AUC 0.74 to 0.91, with 93% decisive accuracy at 63% coverage. “Precision” here names the selective Pass 3 workflow, not the statistical class-precision metric.
Pass 2 validation detail · MBRS Standard

How Pass 2 broad triage is validated

This section summarizes the validation results for the MBRS Standard triage stage. Standard and Perspective Landscape results are reported separately so their different purposes remain clear.

Pass 2 signal readout
Current proof point: decisive MBRS calls show promising separation

Decisive-call evaluation subset: 60% accuracy on 97% of labeled approval/failure calls. This is the primary MBRS Standard readout because it applies the consistent decisive-call evaluation rule. Broad approval/failure alignment has improved (68% balanced accuracy), and MBRS Standard AUC is 0.74; this means the current run should still be framed as biological risk triage rather than standalone approval prediction. Class performance is now relatively balanced: Failed precision 68% / recall 63%, Approved precision 68% / recall 73%. This demo set is heavily oncology-enriched, where real-world approval decisions often tolerate higher biological and safety risk than other indications. That makes approval/failure labels a noisy downstream comparator, not the biology MBRS is directly modeling.

Decisive-call accuracy
60%
Accuracy under the current MBRS Standard decisive-call rule.
Decisive-call coverage
97%
Share of labeled calls retained by the defined evaluation rule.
Balanced accuracy
68%
Calibration context, not the primary claim.
Labeled outcomes
533
Approved and failed outcomes in the evaluation cohort.
What this supports

Use MBRS as a biological risk-prioritization layer: decisive calls help flag programs that deserve deeper diligence, comparison, or caution.

What it does not claim

MBRS is not presented as a standalone regulatory approval predictor; lower precision and calibration scores are shown to keep that boundary explicit.

Why approval labels are noisy

The current demo set is oncology-heavy, where approval decisions can accept more toxicity and uncertainty than many other indications. That can blur direct approval/failure calibration.

Real-world decision benchmark context
Context only. These benchmarks show why a biology-first signal can still add value.
Decision settingReported benchmarkWhy it matters for MBRS
Drug development base rate~14% Phase I→approval (2006–2022)Low base rate → small signal improvements matter
Current clinical success environment10.8% overall success (2023); Phase I 48%, Phase III 66%Uncertainty persists late → biology signal remains relevant
VC portfolio realityMajority of VC funds underperform public marketsPower-law outcomes → filtering matters more than prediction
BD / M&A executionFrequent miss on timelines and revenue post-acquisitionForecast error risk → biology adds downside checks
MBRS decisive-call subset60% accuracy on 97% of labeled approval/failure calls.Measured separation under the defined evaluation rule
Sources: BIO/Informa/QLS clinical success report; Schuhmacher et al. 2025; IQVIA Global Trends in R&D 2024; Kauffman Foundation VC report; L.E.K. pharmaceutical M&A portfolio analysis.
Class-level calibration table
These results show where the current evaluation remains conservative: broad outcome labels are difficult to classify, even when a subset of calls is more informative.
ClassPrecisionRecallF1Correct / totalMean marginCalibrationReadout
Failed68%63%65%160 / 25595 missed0.8691% strong-margin callsECE 0.35Brier 0.37 · still calibration-limitedFailure detection is directional; precision is useful, so the signal is useful for risk triage but not a standalone verdict.
Approved68%73%70%202 / 27876 missed0.9395% strong-margin callsECE 0.35Brier 0.37 · still calibration-limitedApproval calls are performing well enough to support stronger positive-readout language.

Category margin shows how separated the model’s top biological call is from the competing class. This is the current advantage: margin filtering reveals the subset where MBRS is most informative, without overstating it as outcome prediction.

Calibration context
These metrics should be read after the canonical decisive-call readout.
Baseline ROC AUC
0.74
Out-of-sample discrimination for the MBRS Standard evaluation cohort.
Margin AUC
0.66
How well the evaluated margin ranks more reliable versus less reliable calls.
Decisive calls
60% accuracy on 97% coverage
Accuracy and retained labeled support under the canonical decisive-call rule.
Category margin ≥0.50
69% accuracy on 93% of labeled calls
Additional margin-based diagnostic from the same evaluation cohort (496 records), not a separate data source.
Calibration gap
0.35
still calibration-limited expected calibration error on the labeled OOF panel.
Top-margin quartile
80% accuracy
Accuracy among the highest-margin quarter of labeled calls.
Labeled outcomes
533 records
Approved and failed outcomes included in the documented evaluation cohort.

In summary, MBRS Standard is described by its measured AUC, decisive-call accuracy, coverage and calibration. The additional margin diagnostic uses the same 533-record evaluation cohort.

Note: this page is intentionally high-level. Proprietary methods and model details are omitted.