“Programmable Medicine” is a phrase Recently appeared in biotechnology financing——Usually in the context of genetic medicine.But RNA therapy is not the only drug that can be treated Programming with features and functionsArtificial intelligence is revealing new protein insights, and Generate Biomedicines claims that its proprietary technology suite enables the startup to develop programmable protein therapies.Company just Raised US$370 million Prove this.
So, how does Generate, located in Cambridge, Massachusetts, program its proteins? It analyzes the world of known proteins in nature to understand how they are made and how they function. Protein analysis identifies various aspects of diseases that can be solved with protein. The technology discovers patterns and uses machine learning technology to predict the target that the protein will bind to and the subsequent therapeutic effect.
Generate believes that its method can solve a goal that was previously considered impossible to be a medicine. The company also said that the technology has accelerated the process of protein drug research. These protein therapies can take many forms: peptides, antibodies, enzymes, and cytokines. But Generate also said that its technology can surpass the proteins found in nature by generating new proteins specifically designed for specific therapeutic needs.
“Generate is deploying machine learning on a large scale to understand the genetic code behind protein functions,” Mike Nally, CEO of the startup, said in a prepared statement. “We are pioneering the field of biology-a revolutionary drug development method that allows us to write new protein therapies that can perform almost any desired biological function.”
Generate is a product of the venture capital company Flagship Pioneering.Protein analysis technology Before Generate was officially launched last year, it was developed within Flagship for three yearsAt the time, the founders of this startup would not say too much about specific drugs or drug targets. Generate did not disclose more information about its pipeline, only saying that its goal is to have multiple preclinical projects by the end of this year and conduct clinical trials in 2023.
In order to execute its plan, Generate is rapidly expanding its business. The company is building two facilities with a total area of 140,000 square feet. These sites will house computational biology, machine learning and data generation, as well as wet laboratory functions. This startup is also hiring frantically. The company expects that in the next two years, its number of employees will be about 80, which is expected to surge to 500.
The financing announced on Thursday is a Series B financing. In addition to Flagship, the disclosed investors include subsidiaries of the Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, Alaska Permanent Fund, Altitude Life Science Ventures, ARCH Venture Partners, Fidelity Management & Research Company, Morningside Ventures, and advisory provided by T. Rowe Price Associates Funds and accounts.
Photo: Andrzej Wojcicki, Getty Images
