Lunai Bioworks (NASDAQ: LNAI) Expands NIH-Funded AI Program into Commercial Alcohol Use Disorder Drug Discovery

Rhea-AI Summary

Lunai Bioworks (NASDAQ: LNAI) completed an NIH STTR commercial milestone creating high-resolution, multidimensional behavioral signatures of ethanol exposure and withdrawal and has launched a commercial Alcohol Use Disorder (AUD) drug-discovery program.

The program uses scalable high-throughput vertebrate screening, targets underexplored mechanisms, is supported by NIH funding, and is run in collaboration with Dr. Calum MacRae at Brigham and Women's Hospital/Harvard Medical School.

Company cites a large unmet need: ~30 million U.S. individuals affected, ~95% receiving no effective pharmacologic treatment, and a ~$250 billion annual economic cost.

Positive

• Completed NIH STTR commercial milestone generating high-resolution behavioral signatures
• Launched a focused commercial AUD drug-discovery program
• Operational, scalable high-throughput vertebrate screening infrastructure
• Collaboration with Dr. Calum MacRae at Brigham and Women's Hospital/Harvard Medical School
• Positioned for partnerships, licensing, and non-dilutive funding opportunities

Negative

• Biological heterogeneity in AUD increases development complexity
• Existing therapeutic limitations imply high scientific and clinical risk
• Low treatment penetration (<5% treated by a healthcare professional) may indicate adoption barriers

News Market Reaction

-2.45% 3.5x vol

13 alerts

-2.45% News Effect

+3.5% Peak Tracked

-15.8% Trough Tracked

-$569K Valuation Impact

$23M Market Cap

3.5x Rel. Volume

On the day this news was published, LNAI declined 2.45%, reflecting a moderate negative market reaction. Argus tracked a peak move of +3.5% during that session. Argus tracked a trough of -15.8% from its starting point during tracking. Our momentum scanner triggered 13 alerts that day, indicating notable trading interest and price volatility. This price movement removed approximately $569K from the company's valuation, bringing the market cap to $23M at that time. Trading volume was very high at 3.5x the daily average, suggesting heavy selling pressure.

Data tracked by StockTitan Argus on the day of publication.

Key Figures

AUD prevalence US: 30 million individuals Untreated AUD share: over 95% Economic cost of alcohol use: $250 billion annually +3 more

6 metrics

AUD prevalence US 30 million individuals Alcohol Use Disorder population in the U.S.

Untreated AUD share over 95% AUD patients receiving no effective pharmacologic treatment

Economic cost of alcohol use $250 billion annually Estimated U.S. economic burden of excessive alcohol use

Disease states affected over 200 disease states Conditions to which excessive alcohol use contributes

Mortality risk age band 15–49 Leading global risk factor for mortality among adults

AUD treatment rate fewer than 5% Individuals with AUD treated by a healthcare professional

Market Reality Check

Price: $0.8565 Vol: Volume 64,917 is light ve...

low vol

$0.8565 Last Close

Volume Volume 64,917 is light versus 20-day average of 140,295, with relative volume at 0.46x. low

Technical Shares trade below the 200-day MA of 1.08 at a pre-news price of 0.878, sitting 47.11% under the 52-week high and 8.4% above the 52-week low.

Peers on Argus

No peers from the Pharmaceutical Preparations sector appeared in the momentum sc...

No peers from the Pharmaceutical Preparations sector appeared in the momentum scanner, and no same-day peer headlines were recorded, suggesting the -4.36% pre-news move was stock-specific rather than part of a sector-wide rotation.

Previous AI Reports

2 past events · Latest: Oct 30 (Positive)

Same Type Pattern 2 events

Date	Event	Sentiment	Move	Catalyst
Oct 30	AI neurotoxicity platform	Positive	-2.0%	AI-driven model for AChE inhibitors and zebrafish profiling to flag neurotoxins.
Oct 06	AI Alzheimer’s program	Positive	-1.6%	Launch of AI-powered Alzheimer’s program with improved diagnostic accuracy and contract.

Pattern Detected

Recent AI-tagged announcements were positive in content but followed by modest negative next-day moves.

Recent Company History

Over the past few months, Lunai’s AI-tagged news has focused on deploying its Augusta platform across neuro and safety applications. On Oct 6, 2025, it launched an AI-powered Alzheimer’s program with improved diagnostic accuracy and a first commercial contract. On Oct 30, 2025, it reported an AI model for detecting acetylcholinesterase-interacting compounds with 0.94 AUROC. Both events were followed by small negative price reactions, framing today’s AI-driven AUD program as a continuation of platform expansion into large CNS indications.

Historical Comparison

AI

+1.8 %

Average Historical Move

Historical Analysis

In the past year, Lunai released multiple AI-tagged updates, with an average move of 1.77%. Those focused on Alzheimer’s diagnostics and neurotoxicity; today’s AUD launch extends the same AI platform into another large CNS indication.

Typical Pattern

AI-driven capabilities progressed from Alzheimer’s diagnostics and neurotoxic compound detection toward broader CNS drug discovery, now including an Alcohol Use Disorder program informed by high-resolution behavioral phenotyping.

Market Pulse Summary

This announcement extends Lunai’s AI platform into Alcohol Use Disorder, targeting a U.S. population...

Analysis

This announcement extends Lunai’s AI platform into Alcohol Use Disorder, targeting a U.S. population of about 30 million with over 95% lacking effective pharmacologic treatment. The program builds on prior AI work in CNS and behavioral phenotyping, supported by an NIH STTR grant. Investors may watch for concrete milestones such as candidate nominations, partnership activity, and evidence that high-throughput behavioral signatures translate into clinically meaningful drug candidates.

Key Terms

alcohol use disorder, small business technology transfer (sttr) grant, national institutes of health (nih), high-throughput vertebrate screening, +2 more

6 terms

alcohol use disorder medical

"new commercial drug discovery program targeting Alcohol Use Disorder (AUD), a condition..."

A chronic medical condition characterized by an inability to control or stop drinking despite negative effects on health, work, relationships or safety; it ranges from mild to severe based on frequency, loss of control, and withdrawal symptoms. Investors care because its prevalence and treatment options affect markets for pharmaceuticals, medical services and health-related productivity—think of it like a long-running equipment fault in a factory that reduces output and creates demand for repairs and preventive solutions.

small business technology transfer (sttr) grant regulatory

"The program is supported by a Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR) grant from the..."

A Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR) grant is a U.S. federal award that pays a small company and a research institution to develop new technology and move it toward commercialization. For investors, an STTR is like a seal of external validation and a non-diluting cash boost—it lowers technical and financial risk, signals credible scientific backing, and often speeds partnerships or licensing that can increase a venture’s value.

national institutes of health (nih) regulatory

"supported by a Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR) grant from the National Institutes..."

A U.S. government agency that funds and coordinates medical and health research, acting like a large public research bank that supports studies, clinical trials, and disease prevention efforts. Investors watch its funding decisions, study results, and guidance because NIH backing can validate a therapy, speed development, reduce risk, and influence a biotech or health-care company's prospects much like an endorsement or a major customer commitment would for an ordinary business.

high-throughput vertebrate screening medical

"Using high-throughput vertebrate screening, the company identified distinct, reproducible..."

High-throughput vertebrate screening is a lab method that uses automated tools to test large numbers of chemical compounds or genetic changes quickly on small vertebrate animals (animals with backbones, such as fish or rodents) to see how they affect biology, disease signs, or safety. For investors, it matters because this approach accelerates early-stage drug or biotechnology discovery and flags promising or toxic candidates sooner—like trying many keys in locks at once to find which ones open and which break—reducing time, cost, and risk in a development pipeline.

neurobehavioral phenotypes medical

"the company identified distinct, reproducible neurobehavioral phenotypes that are only..."

Distinct patterns of thinking, emotion and behavior that are linked to underlying brain function or development; think of them as behavioral “fingerprints” that reflect how a person’s nervous system typically responds to the world. Investors should care because identifying these patterns helps companies develop targeted tests, treatments and clinical trial designs, influences market size and regulatory pathways, and can change how durable or personalized a therapy or diagnostic will be.

behavioral phenotyping medical

"high-resolution behavioral phenotyping can reveal mechanistic signals that conventional..."

Behavioral phenotyping is the systematic measurement and classification of observable behaviors to identify consistent patterns or traits in individuals or groups, like profiling a customer’s habits from their shopping history. For investors, it matters because those patterns can help companies and researchers target the right patients, predict who will benefit from a treatment or digital product, and reduce the risk and cost of development by improving trial design and market forecasts.

AI-generated analysis. Not financial advice.

AI Platform Achieves Key Milestones, Triggering Launch of Alcohol Use Disorder Program

SACRAMENTO, Calif. , Jan. 26, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- Lunai Bioworks (NASDAQ: LNAI), an AI-powered drug discovery and biodefense company, today announced it has completed a key commercial milestone under its NIH STTR-supported initiative, generating high-resolution, multidimensional behavioral signatures of ethanol exposure and alcohol withdrawal. Using high-throughput vertebrate screening, the company identified distinct, reproducible neurobehavioral phenotypes that are only partially addressed by currently approved therapies, highlighting previously underexplored biological mechanisms with strong translational potential. Based on these results, the company has initiated a new commercial drug discovery program targeting Alcohol Use Disorder (AUD), a condition affecting approximately 30 million individuals in the U.S. alone, with over 95% receiving no effective pharmacologic treatment.

Lunai's AUD program is designed to advance differentiated, mechanism-informed therapeutic candidates toward clinical translation, while remaining strategically positioned for partnerships, licensing, and non-dilutive funding opportunities. With scalable screening infrastructure now operational, the company believes the program can rapidly progress toward candidate nomination and downstream development.

"These results underscore both the magnitude of unmet need in Alcohol Use Disorder and the commercial opportunity for biologically grounded, precision therapies," said David Weinstein, CEO of Lunai Bioworks. "Our strategy is to build high-value, partner-ready programs that leverage our platform to address large, underpenetrated CNS markets."

The program is supported by a Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR) grant from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) and is being conducted in collaboration with Dr. Calum MacRae, Vice Chair, Scientific Innovation at Brigham and Women's Hospital and Professor of Medicine at Harvard Medical School. Alcohol Use Disorder represents one of the largest and most underserved markets in neuropsychiatry. Excessive alcohol use is estimated to cost the U.S. economy approximately $250 billion annually, contributes to over 200 disease states, and is the leading global risk factor for mortality among adults aged 15–49. Despite this burden, fewer than 5% of individuals with AUD are treated by a healthcare professional, reflecting both therapeutic limitations and biological heterogeneity.

"Alcohol Use Disorder is not a single disease but a spectrum of biologically distinct states," said Dr. Calum MacRae. "This work demonstrates that high-resolution behavioral phenotyping can reveal mechanistic signals that conventional approaches miss, creating a rational foundation for precision therapeutic development."

About Lunai Bioworks

Lunai Bioworks (NASDAQ: LNAI) is an AI-powered drug discovery and biodefense company pioneering safe and responsible generative biology. With proprietary neurotoxicity datasets, advanced machine learning, and a focus on dual-use risk management, Lunai is redefining how artificial intelligence can accelerate therapeutic innovation while safeguarding society from emerging threats.

For more, visit https://lunaibioworks.com.

Forward-Looking Statements

This press release contains forward-looking statements, including statements regarding research progress, therapeutic development, market opportunity, and partnership potential. Actual results may differ materially due to risks and uncertainties, including scientific, regulatory, and financial factors.

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SOURCE Lunai Bioworks Inc.

FAQ

What did Lunai Bioworks (LNAI) announce about its NIH-funded program on January 26, 2026?

Lunai announced completion of an NIH STTR commercial milestone and the launch of a commercial AUD drug-discovery program using high-resolution behavioral signatures.

How is Lunai's AUD program supported and who is the academic collaborator for LNAI?

The program is supported by an NIH STTR grant and collaborates with Dr. Calum MacRae at Brigham and Women's Hospital and Harvard Medical School.

What capabilities does Lunai claim to have for advancing AUD candidates (LNAI)?

Lunai reports an operational, scalable high-throughput vertebrate screening infrastructure to progress toward candidate nomination.

What market size and unmet-need figures did Lunai cite for Alcohol Use Disorder (LNAI)?

Lunai cited ~30 million affected individuals in the U.S., ~95% receiving no effective pharmacologic treatment, and a ~$250 billion annual economic cost.

How might Lunai (LNAI) pursue commercialization or funding for its AUD program?

The company said it remains positioned for partnerships, licensing, and additional non-dilutive funding opportunities.

Does Lunai's announcement indicate near-term clinical candidates or timelines for LNAI?

The announcement states the program can rapidly progress toward candidate nomination but does not provide specific clinical timelines.