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Anthropic had an internal Claude model design small proteins meant to latch onto scorpion neurotoxins, then had outside labs test them. Seventeen of 211 designs bound their targets, a possible early step toward cheaper antivenom, though none have been shown to neutralize venom yet.
- Claude generated about 318,000 candidate designs and picked 180 for testing, mostly running autonomously over 64 hours with four human follow-up prompts.
- Of 211 tested designs, 17 bound one of four dangerous scorpion neurotoxins. None of the designs aimed at several toxins at once worked for more than one.
- Anthropic says binding is no longer the bottleneck; the hard part is turning binders into safe, affordable drugs, and they haven't tested whether these neutralize venom in cells.
Anthropic has kicked off an internal drug discovery effort focused on neglected diseases to sharpen its AI tools for biopharma clients. By running its own research alongside partners, the company aims to gather feedback and demonstrate Claude Science’s capabilities.
- Anthropic is running its own internal drug discovery program targeting neglected diseases to battle-test and improve Claude Science before selling it to pharma partners.
- As a public benefit company, Anthropic claims it can choose projects based on patient need rather than commercial potential, unlike typical biotechs.
- The company hasn't said what happens if it finds a promising drug candidate, leaving unclear how it would handle clinical trials.
- This follows a mixed track record for big tech in healthcare, including Alphabet's life sciences unit, Apple's health features, and Amazon's One Medical/PillPack acquisitions.