Anthropic has just shown that Claude can directly contribute to the design of proteins capable of binding to biological targets, an important step in the development of many drugs.
The technology group asked Claude Opus 4.8 and its experimental Mythos Preview model to design ‘minibinders’, small proteins intended to attach precisely to a target protein in order, for example, to block or alter its function. Of 15 targets tested, functional proteins were obtained for 14, with a success rate of 22% to 35% depending on the methods used, versus roughly 10% to 15% generally seen in this type of campaign. For four targets, the best designed proteins matched or exceeded previously published affinity levels.
The experiment above all highlights the complementarity between AI models and synthetic biology. Claude can generate, compare and quickly select a large number of sequences, but these then have to be physically produced and tested in the lab. Twist Bioscience and Adaptyv Bio handled precisely this independent validation step.
Listed on the Nasdaq, Twist Bioscience specializes in manufacturing synthetic DNA, notably for sequencing and drug discovery. Adaptyv Bio, for its part, operates an automated platform that can rapidly produce and test digitally designed proteins. In Anthropic’s experiment, the two companies therefore provided the lab validation of the proteins generated by Claude.
This development could gradually strengthen demand for this type of synthetic biology infrastructure if pharmaceutical labs increase their use of AI to generate new candidates. The market quickly reacted to that prospect, with Twist Bioscience shares jumping about 17% Wednesday, toward their highest level since 2021. The stock has now more than quadrupled since the start of the year.
Anthropic is also preparing for its arrival in the financial markets. The group confidentially filed paperwork in June for an initial public offering and is now working on its future governance structure, notably on maintaining enhanced voting power for its founders. The deal could become one of the largest technology IPOs ever, with Anthropic already valued at $965bn in its most recent funding round in May.