Protein engineering
Generative protein design has crossed into the clinic: AI-engineered antibody GB-0895 reached Phase 3 in late 2025 and RFdiffusion3 made atom-level de novo design routine.
Research snapshot · updated Jun 24, 2026
Core thesis
David Baker (Nobel 2024, Institute for Protein Design) pioneered de novo protein design. AlphaFold predicted structures; Baker's work creates new structures from scratch. Applications: novel enzymes for manufacturing, protein therapeutics, biosensors, and materials. The dual-use concern: the same tools that design beneficial proteins can theoretically design harmful ones.
State of the art (2026)
Protein engineering in 2026 is defined by three converging fronts. Generation: David Baker’s Institute for Protein Design released RFdiffusion3 in December 2025 – an all-atom diffusion model that designs binders to DNA, ligands and enzyme active sites, alongside EvolutionaryScale’s ESM3 and DeepMind’s AlphaFold 3 for structure and interactions. Clinic: Generate Biomedicines began global Phase 3 trials of GB-0895, an AI-engineered long-acting anti-TSLP antibody for severe asthma, in late 2025 – among the first generative-AI molecules to reach Phase 3. Industry: Isomorphic Labs runs multi-billion-dollar pharma deals, while Codexis, Arzeda and Novonesis push designed enzymes into manufacturing. The open question is whether fully de novo proteins, not just optimised antibodies, deliver clinical efficacy.
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Signal stack
Evidence stacked leading → lagging
8 signals
Signal stack
Evidence stacked leading → lagging
Technology-native KPIs
Metrics that predict trajectory, tracked over time
3 tracked
Technology-native KPIs
Metrics that predict trajectory, tracked over time
Landscape map
Who builds what — and who depends on whom
70 players · 5 layers
Landscape map
Who builds what — and who depends on whom
Catalyst calendar
Dated events that will move the position
3 ahead
Catalyst calendar
Dated events that will move the position
Watchlists
Companies, people and papers — each with a remove-by condition
19 · 3
Watchlists
Companies, people and papers — each with a remove-by condition
Decision frameworks
The same call, framed for your desk
Locked
Decision frameworks
The same call, framed for your desk
Thesis changelog
When our view changed, and why
5 updates
Thesis changelog
When our view changed, and why
Change our mind
3 disconfirming conditions
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