Sinopia Biosciences, a San Diego-based biotechnology company, announced on October 20, 2026, that it had been awarded a $2.5 million Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase II grant from the National Institute of General Medical Sciences (NIGMS), part of the US National Institutes of Health (NIH).
The grant will support the development and validation of an artificial intelligence-powered metabolomics foundation model designed to integrate biological data collected through different experimental platforms and analytical methods. The research will contribute to Sinopia’s proprietary LEADS (LEarn And DiScover) drug discovery platform.
Sinopia Biosciences was co-founded by Aarash Bordbar and Bernhard Palsson. Bordbar serves as the company’s Chief Executive Officer and Chief Scientific Officer. The company uses multi-omics analysis, high-throughput screening and machine learning to identify drug targets and develop experimental therapies for diseases with unmet medical needs.
Metabolomics involves studying small molecules produced or modified during cellular processes. Differences in laboratory techniques, measurement systems and data processing can make datasets difficult to compare. Sinopia’s foundation model is intended to identify shared biological patterns across these datasets and improve their use in drug discovery.
Under the Phase II programme, the company plans to expand its model using proprietary and publicly available metabolomics datasets, increase the number of drug-induced biological responses being profiled and assess the system’s ability to identify potential therapeutic compounds.
The NIH project description also outlines plans to evaluate the platform in preclinical models of familial adenomatous polyposis and Gaucher disease, two conditions associated with biological pathways involving metabolic dysfunction.
The award builds on Sinopia’s earlier metabolomics research involving small molecules targeting more than 1,000 proteins across different cellular environments.
Sinopia’s drug development pipeline includes SB-0110, an experimental PKA-II modulator being developed for Parkinson’s disease. The candidate remains in preclinical development, while the company continues to apply its computational discovery platform across additional therapeutic areas.
