De novo designed protein binders
Designing a protein from scratch on a computer to grip a chosen target, instead of finding one in an animal or a library.
Deep-learning structure prediction and generative design now produce small, stable binders against chosen epitopes in weeks, including minibinders for viral and cancer targets. In oncology the first clinical examples are AI-designed antibodies rather than fully de novo scaffolds; Generate Biomedicines' MMAE-neutralising antibody entered the clinic in 2026. Designed miniproteins are attractive as ADC and radioligand targeting heads because they penetrate tissue faster than antibodies.
How it works
Diffusion and language models generate backbone geometries complementary to a target epitope; sequences are designed, expressed and screened, compressing discovery from years to weeks.
- Fast, cheap discovery cycles
- Small size penetrates tumours and clears quickly, useful for imaging and radioligands
- The epitope can be chosen deliberately
- Immunogenicity of non-natural sequences is uncharacterised in patients
- Short half-life needs engineering
- Clinical validation is only starting
Latest papers
topQuery for this technology: (TITLE:"De novo designed protein binders" OR ABSTRACT:"De novo designed protein binders") AND (cancer OR tumor OR tumour OR oncology OR carcinoma OR lymphoma OR leukemia OR leukaemia OR myeloma OR sarcoma OR melanoma OR glioma). Results are unfiltered search hits about De novo designed protein binders, not a curated reading list.
Pages like this
not linked directly; found by shared links- TechnologyRadioligand plus DNA-repair inhibitor combinations
Shares Radical oncology: what could change the war by 2035, Radioligand therapy (beta emitters) and the tags frontier, promising.
- TechnologyMolecular glue discovery platforms
Shares Radical oncology: what could change the war by 2035, AI-driven drug & target discovery and the tags frontier, promising.
- TechnologyLattice and GRID radiotherapy
Shares Radical oncology: what could change the war by 2035 and the tags frontier, promising.
- TechnologyRadiodynamic therapy and radiosensitising nanoparticles
Shares Radical oncology: what could change the war by 2035 and the tags frontier, promising.
- TechnologyChronotherapy: timing treatment to the body clock
Shares Radical oncology: what could change the war by 2035 and the tags frontier, promising.
- TechnologyEngineered exosomes as drug carriers
Shares Radical oncology: what could change the war by 2035 and the tags frontier, promising.
- TechnologyN-of-1 and rapid platform trials
Shares Radical oncology: what could change the war by 2035 and the tags frontier, promising.
- TechnologySelf-amplifying and circular RNA therapeutics
Shares Radical oncology: what could change the war by 2035 and the tags frontier, promising.